Many in the homebuilding industry still believe in the notion of caveat emptor or "buyer beware." Unfortunately, many home buyers aren't aware of what they are purchasing. This can be particularly true with first time buyers who are understandably anxious and excited to join the ranks of home-ownership. When it comes to new home warranties, many builders go to great lengths to disclaim limited protections that purchasers might otherwise enjoy. We often see builders offering "Express Warranties" that are more about disclaiming liability than warranting anything. We often hear that a one or two year warranty coupled with a disclaimer of any and all other liability warranty represents the "industry standard." If that truly is the industry standard then the industry is wrong. Most small electronics come with a better warranty than this.

The idea that home-buyers have the purchasing power to negotiate reasonable warranty protections is fiction. The fiction is compounded when the home purchase includes "common property" or "commonly maintained property" as is the case with a condominium or non-condominium homes within a homeowners' association. The concept that purchasers can protect themselves through their contract fails when multiple owners, all with separate purchase and sale agreements, share the financial responsibility to maintain repair or replace a roof, road, wall, clubhouse, pool, etc.

Consumer protection for home-buyers will once again be at issue when the Washington State Legislature convenes in Jan. 2016. Senate Bill 5263 (the substantially edited Washington version of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act) ("UCIOA") will be back and, in its current form, exempts all homes except condominiums from the statutory warranties of quality. The bill also revises the long-standing Condo Act language that restricts a condominium declarant's ability to disclaim the existing statutory warranties for condominiums.

Because we believe warranties for homeowners should be protected and extended, Barker Martin opposes Senate Bill 5263 in its current form. The Condominium Acts in Oregon and Washington include basic consumer protections for purchasers of condominiums. The unedited version of UCIOA extends these protections to all communities. There is no reason why Washington's version should, instead, restrict these warranties. Basic consumer protections should be extended to all new construction but, at a minimum, should be extended to any purchase than includes community owned or maintained property.