HOME WARRANTY METHOD AND SYSTEM

• US 20090106135A1
• Filed: 10/19/2007
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Robert James Steiger
• Original Assignee: Robert James Steiger
• Inventors: Steiger, Robert James
• Application Number:
  US11/875,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20090106135A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate

Abstract

A method of selling a home includes entering into a contract with a buyer to sell a newly constructed home to the buyer, and entering into a warranty agreement with the buyer. The warranty agreement warrants a majority of the components of the newly constructed home for a time period from the date of the contract, requires the buyer to comply with a maintenance schedule to be verified by periodic inspection, and conditions at least a portion of the warranty on the buyer'"'"'s compliance with the maintenance schedule. The method may include collecting a transaction cost from the buyer, where the transaction cost includes a cost for the home and a cost for the warranty.

Claims

1. A method of selling a home comprising:

entering into a contract with a buyer to sell a newly constructed home to the buyer; and

entering into a warranty agreement with the buyer, wherein the warranty agreement;

warrants a majority of the components of the newly constructed home for a time period of at least 25 years from the date of the contract;

requires the buyer to comply with a maintenance schedule to be verified by periodic inspection; and

conditions at least a portion of the warranty on the buyer'"'"'s compliance with the maintenance schedule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the warranty agreement includes a term requiring the buyer to obtain pre-approval for listed modifications to the home, and failure by the buyer to obtain the pre-approval for any of the listed modifications will void at least a portion of the warranty'"'"'s coverage.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the warranty includes a term requiring the buyer to use a designated warranty service provider for listed repairs of certain components of the home, and failure by the buyer to use the designated warranty service provider for any of the listed repairs will void the warranty.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting a transaction cost from the buyer, the transaction cost comprising a cost for the home and a cost for the warranty.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

constructing the home with a durable material; and

contracting with a supplier of the durable material to provide a warranty having a duration that equals or exceeds the period of the home warranty agreement.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically determining a warranty cost by using a computing device to:

access a database of projected maintenance costs for a plurality of home values, wherein each cost in the database is associated with a plurality of home specifications;

compare a plurality of specifications for the newly constructed home to the specifications in the database to determine a total projected maintenance cost over the time period; and

establish the warranty cost based on the total projected maintenance cost.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein establishing the warranty cost comprises multiplying the total projected maintenance cost by a predetermined scaling factor.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving the warranty cost from the buyer; and

placing the warranty cost in a reserve account.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a service call from the buyer, wherein the service call requests service on a component of the home;

accessing a database of component warranties to determine whether the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier warranty; and

if the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier, directing the supplier to provide a service corresponding to the service call.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a service call from the buyer, wherein the service call requests service on a component of the home;

determining whether the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier warranty; and

if the component is not the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier, performing a service corresponding to the service call.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a service call from the buyer, wherein the service call requests service on a component of the home;

determining whether the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier warranty;

if the component is not the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier, performing a service corresponding to the service call, and receiving a payment for the service from the reserve account.

12. A method of selling a home comprising:

accessing a database of projected maintenance costs for a plurality of home values, wherein each cost in the database is associated with a plurality of home specifications;

comparing a plurality of specifications for a newly constructed home to the specifications in the database to determine a total projected maintenance cost over the time period;

establishing a warranty cost based on the total projected maintenance cost;

entering into a contract with a buyer to sell the newly constructed home to the buyer; and

entering into a warranty agreement with the buyer, wherein the warranty agreement;

warrants a plurality of the components of the newly constructed home for a time period;

requires the buyer to comply with a maintenance schedule to be verified by periodic inspection; and

conditions at least a portion of the warranty on the buyer'"'"'s compliance with the maintenance schedule; and

collecting a transaction cost from the buyer, the transaction cost comprising a cost for the home and the warranty cost.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the warranty agreement includes a term requiring the buyer to obtain pre-approval for listed modifications to the home, and failure by the buyer to obtain the pre-approval for any of the listed modifications will void at least a portion of the warranty'"'"'s coverage.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the warranty includes a term requiring the buyer to use a designated warranty service provider for listed repairs of certain components of the home, and failure by the buyer to use the designated warranty service provider for any of the listed repairs will void the warranty.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

constructing the home with a durable material; and

contracting with a supplier of the durable material to provide a warranty having a duration that equals or exceeds the period of the home warranty agreement.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein establishing the warranty cost comprises multiplying the total projected maintenance cost by a predetermined scaling factor.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a service call from the buyer, wherein the service call requests service on a component of the home;

accessing a database of component warranties to determine whether the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier warranty; and

if the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier, directing the supplier to provide a service corresponding to the service call.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a service call from the buyer, wherein the service call requests service on a component of the home;

determining whether the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier warranty; and

if the component is not the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier, performing a service corresponding to the service call.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a service call from the buyer, wherein the service call requests service on a component of the home;

determining whether the component is the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier warranty;

if the component is not the subject of a warranty from a third party supplier, performing a service corresponding to the service call, and receiving a payment for the service from the collected transaction cost.