Caring for Your Home

Everything you need to know about your home

Parasol Properties has constructed your home with carefully selected materials and the effort of experienced craftsmen and laborers under the supervision of our field personnel, with the administrative support of our office personnel. Although this group works from detailed plans and specifications, no two homes are exactly alike. Each one is unique; a home is one of the last hand-built products left in the world. Over time, each behaves differently.

Although quality materials and workmanship have been used to create your home, like an automobile, it requires care from the first day. Regular homeowner maintenance is essential to providing a quality home for a lifetime. This section of our manual was assembled to assist you in that effort.

Homeowner Use and Maintenance Guidelines
Introduction to the maintenance information in this manual.
Home Components
Specifics on each home component.
Limited Care and Warranty Guidelines
Introduction to the criteria Parasol Properties uses to screen warranty items.
Warranty Reporting Procedures
Standard, emergency, miscellaneous, and appliance warranty procedures.
Warranty Item Processing Procedures
A simple description of a complex process.
Help Us to Serve You
Things you need to know so we can provide effective warranty service.

Homeowner Use and Maintenance Guidelines

We are proud of the homes we build and the neighborhoods in which we build them. We strive to create lasting value. This is best achieved when you, as the homeowner, know and perform appropriate maintenance tasks. Periodic maintenance is necessary because of normal wear and tear, the inherent characteristics of the materials used in your home, and the normal service required by the mechanical systems. Natural fluctuations in temperature and humidity also affect your home, resulting in maintenance items. The natural and manufactured materials, the components interact with each other and the environment.

Checklists

You will find several checklists included in this manual. These cover fire prevention reminders, energy, and water conservation tips, suggestions for extended absences, appliance service information, a home maintenance supplies list, and a maintenance schedule. Again we make no claim that we have included every detail. We do believe we have provided you with a good start, and we’ve allowed space for you to add your own notes to our checklists.

Prompt Attention and Care

In addition to routine care, many times, minor maintenance attention provided immediately saves you a more serious, time-consuming, and sometimes costly repair later. Note that neglecting routine care can void applicable limited warranty coverage on all or parts of your home.

By caring for your new home attentively, you ensure uninterrupted warranty coverage as well as your enjoyment of it for years. The attention provided by each homeowner contributes significantly to the overall desirability of the community.

Manufacturer Literature

Please take time to read the literature (warranties and use and care guides) provided by the manufacturers of consumer products and other items in your home. The information contained in that material is not repeated here. Although much of the information may be familiar to you, some points may differ significantly from homes you have had in the past.

We make every effort to keep the information in this manual current. However, if any detail in our discussion conflicts with the manufacturer’s recommendations, you should follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Activate specific manufacturer’s warranties by completing and mailing any registration cards included with their materials. In some cases, the manufacturer’s warranties may extend beyond the first year, and it is in your best interest to know about such coverages.

Home Components

Limited Care and Warranty Guidelines

While we strive to build a defect-free home, we are realistic enough to know that, with repeated use, an item in the home may fail to perform as it should. When this occurs, we will make necessary corrections so the item meets our warranty guidelines. In support of this commitment, Parasol Properties provides you with a limited warranty.

Corrective Actions

In addition to the information contained in the limited warranty itself, this manual includes details about the criteria we will use to evaluate concerns you report. The purpose of this is to let you know what our warranty commitment is for the typical concerns that may come up in a new home. The manual describes the corrective action we will take in many common situations.

We Sometimes Break Our Own Rules–In Your Favor

Our criteria for qualifying warranty repairs are based on typical industry practices in our region and meet or exceed those practices. Please note that we reserve the right, at our discretion, to exceed these guidelines if common sense or individual circumstances make that appropriate, without being obligated to exceed all guidelines to a similar degree or for other homeowners whose circumstances are different.

We Sometimes Say No

With a product as complex as a home, different viewpoints regarding which tasks are homeowner maintenance responsibilities and which are Parasol Properties warranty responsibilities are possible. If you request warranty service on a maintenance item, we will explain the steps you should take to care of the item. We are available to answer your home-care questions during and after your warranty period. Providing normal maintenance for your home is your job.

Warranty Specimen Provided for Your Review

You will receive the signed limited warranty document at your closing. We provide a specimen copy for your review at the time you sign your purchase agreement. Please read the information, service procedures, and guidelines discussed in our online Homeowner Manual. If you have any questions, please contact our warranty office.

Warranty Reporting Procedures

Providing warranty service for a new home is more complicated than for other products. When you purchased your home, you have actually purchased hundreds of items and the work of 35 to 50 independent trade contractors. With so many details and people involved, a planned system is essential.

Our warranty service system is designed based on your written report of non-emergency items. This provides you with maximum protection and allows us to operate efficiently, thereby providing faster service to all homeowners. Emergency reports are the only service requests we accept by phone. Please put all non-emergency service requests in writing.

You are welcome to fill out our Warranty Service Request. This written system permits Parasol Properties personnel to focus on producing results for you and following up. Experience has taught us that accuracy and efficiency suffer when we work outside this system and sacrifice careful documentation.

We plan two standard warranty contacts with you. The first is 60 days after your closing, and the second is at 11 months after closing. We also have emergency response procedures and have provided for miscellaneous warranty requests between the standard 60-day and 11-month reports. Service for your appliances is handled differently and is described in detail further down.

60-Day Report

For your convenience and our service program to operate at maximum efficiency, we suggest you wait 60 days before submitting a warranty list. This allows you sufficient time to become settled in your new home and to use most components repeatedly. As you notice items, jot them down in the service request form.

11-Month Report

Near the end of the eleventh month of your materials and workmanship warranty, you should submit a year-end report if you have any items to report. We will also be happy to discuss any maintenance questions you may have at that time. Again, keep notations of items on a service request form. This is also the best time to request the “one-time” repairs we offer on several components such as drywall.

Emergency Service

While emergency warranty situations are rare, when they occur, a prompt response is essential. Begin by checking items you can check. Troubleshooting tips appear in this manual for several of your home’s components:

Please refer to the individual categories to review these hints; you will find them at the end of the corresponding sections. Often, you can solve a problem immediately or mitigate the situation until a technician arrives.

If your review of the troubleshooting tips fails to solve the problem, during business hours, call Parasol Properties warranty office:

321-800-3377

After hours, or on weekends or holidays, call the necessary trade contractor or utility company directly. Their phone numbers are listed on the Emergency Phone Numbers sheet you receive at orientation. We suggest that you insert the Emergency Phone Numbers sheet in this section of your homeowner manual or secure it inside a kitchen cabinet near your phone.

Our trade contractors or local utility companies provide emergency responses to the following conditions:

Total loss of heat when the outside temperature is below 50 degrees F
Total loss of electricity
Total loss of water
Plumbing leak that requires the entire water supply to be shut off
Gas leak

Note that if a service (gas, electricity, water) is out in an entire area, attention from the local utility company is needed. Trade contractors are unable to help with such outages.

Air Conditioning. Understandably, if your air conditioner is not working, you want it fixed pronto. In a typical scenario, many other homeowners across our region will discover they too need service on their air conditioners on the same hot day that you do. The trades who address these needs generally respond to calls on a first-come, first-served basis. If your call for service comes during this time period, you may wait several days for a technician to arrive. For this reason, we recommend that you operate your air conditioner as soon as warm temperatures begin. In this way, if service is needed, you can avoid the rush and get a more satisfactory response with due care.

Roof Leak. While we agree with homeowners that a roof leak is indeed an emergency, the reality is that repairs cannot safely or effectively be performed while the roof is wet. Contact our office with the information during business hours, take appropriate steps to mitigate damage. We will follow up when conditions make repairs possible. (See {Roof care} for more details.)

Other Emergencies. In addition to emergencies covered by our limited warranty, be prepared for other kinds of emergencies. Post phone numbers for the fire department, police, paramedics, and poison control near phones in your home. Have companies in mind if you need a locksmith, water extraction, glass breakage repair, or sewer router service. If you are new to the area, neighbors may be able to recommend good service providers. Introduce your children to neighbors who might be available to help in an emergency if you are not home.

Other Warranty Service

If you wish to initiate a non-emergency warranty service between the standard 60-day and 11-month report, you are welcome to do so by sending in a Warranty Service Request.

Homeowners who want to arrange 60-day or 11-month warranty visits receive priority scheduling. We schedule appointments for miscellaneous requests on a first-come, first-served basis between the standard appointments. As a result, service on miscellaneous requests may take a bit longer to address.

Kitchen Appliance Warranties

The manufacturers of kitchen appliances have asked to work directly with homeowners if any repairs are needed for their products. Customer service phone numbers are listed in the use and care materials for each appliance. Be prepared to provide the model and the serial number of the item and the closing date on your home. We have included an Appliance Service information sheet and other checklists in this manual for your convenience.

Appliance warranties are generally for one year; refer to the literature provided by the manufacturer for complete information. Remember to mail in any registration cards you receive with manufacturer materials. Being in the manufacturer’s system assures that the company can contact you in the event of a recall and arrange to provide the needed correction.

Care

Warranty Item Processing Procedures

When we receive a Warranty Service Request, we may contact you for an inspection appointment. Warranty inspection appointments are available 8:00AM to 4:00PM. We inspect the items listed in your Warranty Service Request to confirm warranty coverage and determine appropriate action. Generally, reported items fall into one of three categories:

Trade contractor item
In-house item
Home maintenance item

If a trade contractor or an in-house employee must perform repairs, we issue a warranty work order to address the situation. If the item is home maintenance, we will review the maintenance steps with you and help you with any informational assistance. Occasionally the inspection step is unnecessary. In that case, we issue the needed work orders and notify you that we have done so.

Care

Help Us to Serve You

We can provide service faster and more accurately if we have all the necessary information. With your Warranty Service Request, you’ll be required to include:

Your name, address, email, and phone number where you can be reached during business hours.
The location in which the issue occurs. This could be either the room description or a general description (“master bedroom” or “entire ceiling”)
The home component is getting more specific to what part of the home is giving you the issue, for example, “cabinet” or “garage door.”
Lastly, the service requested or a complete description of the problem. For example, “cold water line leaks under the sink,” rather than “plumbing problem.”
You can put any additional comments at the end. This could be information about your availability or the best days or times to reach you. For instance, if calling you at work is acceptable, let us know. Otherwise, we will use your home phone number. If you are usually home on Thursday, mention that.

Access to Your Home

Parasol Properties conducts inspections of interior warranty items only when an adult is available to accompany our representative and point out the items you have listed. Our in-house service technicians and those of our trades contractors will likewise perform repairs only when an adult is available to admit them to your home. An adult is 18 or older who has your authorization to admit service personnel and sign completed work orders.

We do not accept keys, nor will we permit our trade contractors to accept your key and work in your home without an adult present. While we recognize that this means processing warranty service items may take longer, we believe your peace of mind and security should be our first concern.

Exterior Items

Exterior items can usually be inspected and repaired without an adult present, provided access is available (for instance, no locked gate). However, we will contact you the day before any visit and let you know we will have someone on your property. If you prefer to meet with us and discuss the item(s) in question, we are happy to arrange an appointment to do that.

Repair Appointments

Depending on the work needed, after the inspection appointment, the warranty manager will most likely ask you to designate a work date-—a date a minimum of 10 days from the inspection date—for approved repairs to be made. This 10-day time frame allows us to notify appropriate tradespeople and arrange for most repairs to occur on the same day.

Although on some occasions, repairs occur in sequence, and more than one work date might be needed. This system works well in most situations. Once appointments are set, we confirm them the day before, and our warranty manager follows up to confirm repairs are completed.

Inspection and Work Hours

Many homeowners ask whether evening and weekend appointment times are available. Parasol Properties understands the desire for appointments outside normal business hours. We recognize the trend of services being available “24/7” in many businesses. However, upon investigation, we discovered many factors that make extended service hours impractical.

A significant portion of repairs requires daylight for proper execution. This applies to drywall, paint, and exterior work of almost any type.
We also found that most of the 35 to 50 independent trade contractors who helped us build your home—many of whom operate as small companies—were unable to work all week and be available for extended hours. Therefore, the few repairs performed in off-hours failed to eliminate the need for repair appointments during normal hours.
Administrative staff and supervisors would need to be available to answer questions. Having some personnel work extended hours meant being short-staffed during normal business hours.
When we calculated the impact on wages and salaries for adding more personnel or compensating existing personnel for working non-traditional hours, we found that this affected overhead, and consequently, the prices for our homes.

We are still looking for a workable long-term answer to this recognized dilemma. Meanwhile, our warranty hours will be as follows:

Administrative staff: 8:00AM to 4:00PM.
Inspection appointments: 8:00AM to 4:00PM.
Work appointments: 8:00AM to 4:00PM.

Evening and weekend appointments are reserved for emergencies. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with these policies.

Pets

Parasol Properties respects the pets that many homeowners count as members of their households. To prevent the possibility of an animal getting injured or lost or giving in to its natural curiosity about tools and materials used for repairs, we ask that you carefully restrict all animals to a comfortable location during any warranty visit, whether for inspection or warranty work. This policy is also for the protection of our employees and trades personnel. We have instructed Parasol Properties and trades personnel to reschedule the appointment if pets have access to the work area.

Take Care of Your Belongings

In all work that we perform for our homeowners, we are concerned that their personal belongings be protected and cared for. When warranty work is needed in your home, we ask that you remove vulnerable items or items that might make performing the repair difficult. Parasol Properties and trade personnel will reschedule the repair appointment rather than risk damaging your belongings.

Surface Care

We expect all personnel who work in your home to arrive with appropriate materials to cover the work area, protecting it from damage and catching the dust or scraps from work being performed. Similarly, all personnel should clean up the work area, removing whatever excess materials they brought in.

Repair personnel will routinely check the work area for any existing damage to surfaces. Before beginning repairs, they will document any scratches, chips, or other cosmetic damage to avoid further disagreement about how and when such damage occurred.

Signatures on Work Orders

Signing a work order acknowledges that a technician worked in your home on the date shown and about the items listed. It neither negates any of your rights under warranty nor does it release us from any confirmed warranty obligation. If you prefer not to sign the work order, the technician will sign it and return it to us for our records.

Our work order form includes a brief survey about the service provided. We appreciate you taking a moment to respond to the items listed. Let us know your opinion. If you are dissatisfied with any service we provide, you can note that on the work order or call the warranty office with your feedback. We will review your concerns and determine whether our requirements have been met. While complaints of this type are infrequent, about 50 percent of the time, we find the homeowner is correct and more attention is needed.

Completion Time

Regular review of outstanding work orders is part of our office routine. Checking with trades and homeowners alike, we strive to identify the cause for delays and get all warranty work completed within an appropriate and reasonable amount of time.

We intend to complete warranty work orders within 15 workdays of the inspection unless you are unavailable for access. If a back-ordered part or similar circumstance causes a delay, we will let you know. Likewise, when weather conditions prevent the timely completion of exterior items, we track those items and follow up to ensure they are addressed when conditions are right. This can mean a wait of several months.

Missed Appointments

Good communication is one key to the successful completion of warranty items. We strive to keep homeowners informed and to protect them from inconvenience. One of our challenges in this regard is when unexpected events sometimes result in missed appointments.

If a Parasol Properties employee or a trade person will be late, they should contact you as soon as the delay is recognized, offering you a choice of a later time the same day or a completely different appointment. If you must miss an appointment, we appreciate being alerted when you realize your schedule has changed. We can put work orders on “hold” for 10 to 30 days and re-activate them when your schedule offers a better opportunity to arrange access to the home.