Product Warranties

They are different and confusing.

What Are They? Who offers them?

Product warranties are another matter altogether. They are guarantees offered on specific products by the manufacturer of that product. The manufacturer, not the seller, offers the repairs.

The problem with some product warranties is language. They can be extremely vague and leave room for interpretation-never a good idea in a legal document.

Make Sure They Make the Contract

You need the extra protection. You should always look for clauses in your contract referring to warranties. You will likely have several product warranties on a new home. Older homes may not be covered any longer by warranties. It depends on the life of the warranty and the age of the products within the home. For items that do still have warranties, the contract should include a listing and description of warranties that are still active. The warranties must be identified as either full or limited.

Types of Warranties Full or Limited

What's the difference?

• Full Warranty -- A full warranty means that faulty products must be repaired or replaced, or the homeowner's money returned if the product is new.
  
  
• Limited Warranty -- A limited warranty indicates that replacements and refunds of damaged products are limited in some regard. Be sure you understand the limitations and how they affect service.
  

Your contract and warranty should include the name and address of the party who will honor the warranty (contractor, distributor or manufacturer). Make sure the time period for which the warranty is offered is clearly specified.

Caution!

Watch out for these types of warranties:

The warranties to watch out for are those that are not specific. A "lifetime" warranty begs the question, "who's lifetime?" Are they talking about the product? If so, then when the product dies, is the lifetime over? When can a non-functioning product be brought back to life? If they are talking about your lifetime, can you really transfer the warranty when you sell? Of course, the term "lifetime" is supposed to mean the expected lifetime of the product, but even that could be misunderstood.

It is far better to ask for warranties that have definite and specific time periods-five years from date of purchase or within ten years of installation. These are warranties you can actually work with.

On to the Next Legal Right... Your legal right to a pre-closing inspection.

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