Fifty years ago, there wouldn’t have been too much to tell a buyer about their new home. The most complicated piece of technology would have been a clockwork driven heating timer or a gas fire with piezo ignition.
Today, it is an entirely different world. Materials, building processes, low energy lights, underfloor heating, solar powered hot water, smart meters, home-hubs and so the list goes on. The huge array of consumer benefits modern technology delivers, needs explanation. And the simplest way to explain is to take the buyer on a guided tour of their new home.
If you enter a Ford dealership to buy a new car costing £25,000, you will get a full demo of how it works, the features and benefits of engine technology, better fuel consumption, low energy, green credentials, boot space, seats for all the family and so on.
So, when you’re spending TEN TIMES that sum on a new home, surely a similar experience should apply – shouldn’t it?
Merely handing over the keys and reading the meters is just not sufficient. A Home Demonstration must be a full and thorough demonstration of the property and everything in it (certainly that is how the NHQB – New Homes Quality Board see it, in their draft code). Demonstrate the technology – heating, hot water, ventilation, lighting and so on. Also, the appliances, many if not most kitchens come complete with a line up of cool appliances, including washer, dryer, fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, coffee maker etc., etc. But there are further, maybe less obvious benefits to this service.
It presents a great opportunity to start building a positive relationship with your customer – because they are going to be your customer for at least 2 years. The fact that they have now paid the housebuilder for their new home does not mean that they are now a customer ‘past tense’ – they are and will continue to be a customer ‘present tense’ for the next 24 months (the Builder’s Rectification Period).
It also means that you can set some realistic expectations – good After Care does not mean saying YES to everything your customer asks you for. They need to understand that there will be things over the 2 years that as housebuilder, you will continue to be responsible for .. defects!
But you can explain that for some things, the homeowner is responsible … maintenance!
You can additionally explain how the process to report a defect works, provide contact details, explain how emergencies are handled, and outline how long it takes ordinarily to close a defect or an emergency.
After Build have been providing fixed-price Home Demonstrations for almost 2 decades. It’s a service we deliver with friendliness and professionalism. Want to know more? Contact us today.
