As a real estate professional, why should you care about new home warranties? What’s in it for you?

Here’s 5 perks of having a solid RWC home warranty in place - perks that benefit both you, the builder, and the potential buyer:  

1. It Just Looks Good
   As a Real Estate Agent, you know the market for new home construction sales is both competitive and complicated. Not only are builders competing against each other for sales, but also against the resale and foreclosure markets. A new home warranty is a distinguishing feature that makes a new home even more attractive to potential buyers.
2. Quality
   Obviously, the home buyer must qualify under today’s rigid requirements, but the builder may also need to meet certain criteria. Whether a home is financed by a conventional, FHA or VA loan, be assured that a home built by an RWC member is constructed with quality.
3. Buyer Peace of Mind
   Written, insured warranties provide recourse for repairs for your buyers. If the builder is unable or unwilling to correct warranted defects, the Warranty Insurer steps in. Without a warranty, in these uncertain times, a homeowner might be forced to “go it alone” in a time when the average major structural defect exceeds $30,000.
4. Protection
   Real Estate agents benefit directly from the warranty in the event a defect does occur. The warranty ensures that either the builder or the home warranty company will rectify warranted defects.
5. Assurance
   Warranty members have passed stringent screening criteria for professional building ethics, financial stability, and technical competence. As a result, agents are better assured that the home is built by a more qualified builder.

And the benefits of RWC’s home warranties for real estate pros don’t stop there! Discover additional reasons to secure home warranty coverage with RWC.

Residential Warranty Company, LLC (RWC) and its affiliates, HOME of Texas and MHWC, continue to make strides in streamlining the application process for builders joining the group’s elite builder warranty programs. The latest step is to eliminate the inspection requirement* for homes being ‘grandfathered’ (homes that are either under construction prior to membership approval or completed, but not occupied) into the program. Previously, the home warranty companies required that up to 3 homes be inspected prior to membership approval at a cost to the builder of $150 per inspection. By eliminating this requirement, RWC, HOME & MHWC are able to save potential members up to $450 in inspection/application costs.

Joining RWC’s elite builder warranty program is the best way for today’s builders to deal with customer service and risk management issues. Offering a wide variety of unique home warranty options, RWC understands that just one warranty rarely meets everyone’s needs. RWC's “menu” of warranties and services creates comprehensive coverage and effective risk management for the greatest long-term stability.

RWC’s mission is to provide a level of security to builders and their customers and has devoted over three decades to that purpose across the country. Being able to provide a variety of services to members is the result of much hard work and due diligence along the way. RWC has established itself as a rock solid leader in providing home warranty protection. When a builder becomes a member, they benefit from 30+ years of leadership and experience that is unrivaled in the warranty industry.

*Homes over $1 million in sales volume may still need to be inspected. Prospective members may contact the home warranty company for further details.

Residential Warranty Company, LLC is one of the nation’s oldest and largest providers of written insured builder warranties. Builders seeking options in coverage, sensible home warranty protection, and assistance in dealing with customer service, choose RWC. In business for over 30 years, RWC has warranted over 3 million homes and its Insurer is rated “A- (Excellent)” by A.M. Best. An extensive “menu of choices” in both home warranties and general liability insurance is available, enabling builders to reduce their liability and increase the marketability of their homes.

In addition to our variety of home warranty programs, RWC offers unique features to make membership as effective and efficient as possible - features including Warranty Express.*

Warranty Express allows Builders to enroll homes online. With the click of a button, Builders can submit their enrollments, print out closing documents, and even pay for their home warranty fees. Builders save both time and money spent on manual form preparation and postage. Marketing materials and enrollment reports may also be ordered online. Warranty Express also enables Builders to renew their membership online.

Warranty Express enables you to:

• Enroll multiple homes at once.
• Start the electronic enrollment process, save the work you did, and come back later to finish or edit before submitting to RWC.
• Enroll over a secure site to protect your privacy.
• Generate FHA confirmation letters.
• Generate state affidavits, if applicable.

With Warranty Express, you win!

• NO Initial Enrollment Process.
• NO Deposits.
• NO Surcharges if the warranty fee is paid online.**
• NO waiting for the mail for your forms and books.
• Receive immediate confirmation that your enrollment was received.
• Both the Application for Warranty and the Warranty Book are immediately available for you to print.
• Receive important announcements about new home warranty products, builder warranty revisions, and more by email.

For your convenience, we have a link to the Warranty Express login in the top right hand corner of every page on our home warranty company website. So no matter where you are, when you’re visiting our website, Warranty Express is just one short click away!

* Not yet available for certain enrollments: Colorado, MHWC, RSW, or Condominiums.

** Surcharge in IN and MD still applies for additional coverage required by state statute.

You’ve been looking for a home warranty company and all of your research has led you to RWC. Now, all that remains is sending in your home warranty application, getting approved, and enrolling that first home. What’s the easiest way to put the power of RWC’s written, insured new home warranty to work for your business?

Well, you have choices! Pick the one that is the most convenient for you.

Online:

Fill out our simple online application. Average time to complete is less than 10 minutes! Once you hit ‘submit,' you should get a message letting you know what documentation we may still need from you. We will need things like your registration fee, financial information, what homes you have in your inventory to enroll, etc. After your online application is received, someone from our Membership Department will review it and follow up with you directly.

Paper:

Many of us still like the old-fashioned pen and paper route and that’s no problem either. All the forms you need to get started are available in our Forms Library. Some are even editable online so you can type in your answers and then print the completed form when you are ready to send. The editable forms have an “E” in the number so you can tell at a glance.

Instructions:

Want to review all of the requirements a little more before getting started? Find a comprehensive list of what you’ll need to get going.

If you have questions about our home warranty plans or processes, we are here to help! With over 30 years providing quality, sensible new home warranties, RWC’s expertise is something you can count on. Find your Account Executive and get the company contact information here.

Finally, after several lean years, the new home building industry is enjoying improvement. The nation’s vacant home inventory is virtually depleted and new homes are being built again to meet the demand. Interest rates are still low and buyers have more confidence, so not only are homes being built, but they’re being bought.

What are you doing to entice buyers and set yourself apart from your competitors? What kinds of bells and whistles are you including in your homes that other builders are not? How are you promoting your quality and strength? What’s your response to a potential buyer when they ask, “What if I have a problem in my home and you’re out of business?”

That’s a real concern for buyers. None of us can forget how difficult the economy has been. We’re all cautious when making large purchases. Home buyers especially want to be assured they’re getting the most for their money and that they’re purchasing a home from a reputable, quality builder.

By providing RWC’s sensible home warranty, you’re proving to your customers that if there’s a problem in their home, it will be corrected. We investigate all of our members. We want to be sure our members have a solid reputation, build a quality home, have financial strength, and provide excellent customer service. You don’t just subscribe to RWC. You earn your membership, so be sure to proudly include and display the fact that you’re a RWC member. Add our new logo to your printed materials and media advertising and add a link on your website to our homeowners page.

This will also help you compete against resale homes on the market. Most resale homes include a third party home warranty. Quality, reputation, reliability, warranties, and assurance are all very important factors in a home buying decision.

Have you ever had a difficult homeowner after the sale? RWC can help you there, too. Our dispute resolution process is extremely effective. We have trained individuals that assist you and your homeowner through a free 30 day mediation process. Mediation is efficient and effective. From time to time, a homeowner isn’t satisfied with the outcome. For those occasions, binding arbitration is available. Again, RWC’s staff schedules and assists the parties through this process.

Now that homebuilding is gearing up again, be sure to emphasize your advantages. Don’t miss out on sales because you didn’t promote yourself effectively. In addition to your company’s profile information, be sure to advertise that you provide an insured, third party warranty from the nation’s largest home warranty company. Warranties issued by RWC are insured by Western Pacific Mutual Insurance Company, A Risk Retention Group (WPMIC). WPMIC specializes in new home warranties and, in fact, does not write insurance for any other unrelated risk. The financial strength of the company – over $100 million in surplus equity – dedicated for new home warranty resolution means you don’t have to worry about the insurer behind your warranty going out of business because of either man-made or natural catastrophic losses (hurricanes, oil spills, etc.).

The benefits of RWC’s home warranties are numerous for your homebuyers and for you. Enroll today!

When you provide an RWC new home warranty, what exactly does that mean to your buyer and to you?

To prospective homebuyers, it’s financially and emotionally important to receive value for the dollars they spend. It ensures protection and security. RWC has accumulated over 30 years and over 3 million homes’ worth of experience as a home warranty company. Our longevity, experience, and knowledge extend value to our members and, ultimately, to their customers.

The definition of “value” is the amount of money, goods, or services that are considered to be a fair equivalent of something else. RWC provides an excellent value. One of the least expensive, longest-lasting products a builder can purchase for the homes they build is the RWC home warranty. At an average national cost of only $230, builders receive:

1. A third-party written warranty insured by Western Pacific Mutual Insurance Company, A Risk Retention Group (WPMIC) which is rated “A-(Excellent)” from A. M. Best. This rating reflects WPMIC’s sound capitalization, historically favorable operating performance, positive cash flow, and conservative reserve levels.
2. The ability to use the warranty as a marketing feature when you advertise and show your homes.
3. Should your homeowners decide to sell their home, the warranty is automatically transferable to subsequent buyers for the duration of the warranty term, making the warranty you provided an excellent resale tool for them as well.
4. An effective resolution process that includes FREE mediation and, if necessary, binding arbitration in the event of a dispute with a homeowner. In fact, RWC resolves over 95% of the warranty resolution disputes we administer without the need for arbitration!
5. Specific, detailed written industry standards. If, for any reason, a warranted defect is discovered in a home you built and warranted through RWC, your homeowners can rest easy knowing it will be remedied.
6. FHA, VA, USDA approvals when necessary.
7. An online enrollment process.
8. Limited, not UNlimited, exposure to you and your company.
9. Access to and knowledge from RWC’s 30+ years of experience in the home warranties industry.
10. Excellent customer service from RWC’s staff.

Protection, longevity, strength, experience, and third-party insurance backing are all qualities of RWC’s home warranty programs. So if you are asking yourself, “Why choose RWC?,” the answer is found in the solid assurance and numerous advantages for builders and their homebuyers.