I know a lot of builders who do a great job building a home and after the buyer moves in, fall on their face by not following up. I've been guilty of the same thing. They have a home that is 90% perfect and all the buyer can think of is that a door that does not shut properly, and the builder never came back to fix it. They forget that 90% of their home is perfect.
It's very important that you follow up on the punch list and you finish all those items, within reason, that the owner says are problems.
The best way I found to handle this is to have a thorough walk through before the buyer moves in. Repair all those items and when the individual moves in, tell him to live in the home for at least a period of 30 days without calling you or your office. Have the customer write down those items he's not happy with during that 30-day period. Verbal communication is not good enough. He has to put all his little complaints in writing.
Any major item, like their air conditioner not working is an emergency item that you'll handle immediately. Normally, for those items, you've supplied the customer with direct phone numbers to the subcontractor that did the work with the understanding that he will call the subcontractor directly.
It's going to take living in the home just to see what items need repairing or replacing. At the end of this 30-day period, the builder or someone representing the builder needs to sit down with the owner and go over this written punch list. This could take a good amount of time, so you need to allocate enough time to do this.
As you go over the punch list it's very important that you describe to the owner how you're going to fix a problem. For example, if you've got a nail popping out of the drywall you can say, "Well we will hammer the nail back in place. We'll repair the drywall and then we'll repaint that area. And if it doesn't blend properly we'll repaint the entire wall." Look at the owner and ask, "Is that satisfactory?" Because the way you plan to fix a problem and the way he thinks it should be fixed, may not agree. If you don't agree on a solution, talk about it until you do. So, you need to tell them how you're going to fix each and every problem.
After you've gone through the entire list, stipulate in writing that you'll have 60 days to complete the punch list. I want to forewarn you. You can't repair those items fast enough. Don't wait until the tail end of the 60-day period before anybody shows up. Jump on it immediately! Once everything is completed on that punch list, it is understood that any other needed repairs will fall under the homeowner's warranty, which we will discuss a little later. One note, wood molding in a home will do a lot of expanding and /or contracting during the first year. If this molding is painted, it will definitely need re-caulking after the first year. I know a builder that has a sterling reputation because he tells the customer that after a year, he'll bring his painters back into the home to re-caulk these joints. They love him and can't say enough good things about him.
Some people are a little too picky. If the customer is nitpicking you to death, you've got to call his hand. If he has just a few picky items, go ahead and appease him and fix them to the best of your ability. This is great PR. You want satisfied customers. You don't want them telling other people anything negative about you or your company.
There's a major builder in the Atlanta area who has a reputation of returning years later and repairing items. Because of this, you'll see resale homes in their ads highlighting the fact that this particular builder built this home. This builder also commands a higher price for his homes and he gets it.
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