A guide for builders
What to put in a new-home possession package: a builder's checklist
Everything a new homeowner should be handed on possession day, in the order they will look for it. Use it as a checklist for paper, PDFs or an app.
Bindr Home · updated
In short
- The home itself: address and lot, the possession date, the warranty enrolment number and the floor plan.
- The warranty in plain words: each coverage period with its end date, how to claim, what counts as an emergency, and what is normal upkeep.
- Every product by room, with brand, model, serial, install date, installer, manual and its own warranty and registration.
- Finishes and leftovers, shut-off locations, care by season, the signed pre-possession inspection and deficiency list, and who to call.
Why the package matters after the keys
The possession package (some builders call it the homeowner manual or the home binder) is the builder's last chance to answer questions before they become phone calls. Most of what homeowners ask the office in the first year is already known on possession day: which product is in which room, when a warranty period ends, what the grout is called, where the water shuts off.
A good package is complete, organised the way the owner looks things up (by room and by product), and still findable a year later. The checklist below is what we would expect in one, whatever form it takes.
1. The home itself
The facts every later conversation starts from.
Address and lot
As the builder's records have them, so a request can always be matched to the right home.
Possession date
The date the warranty periods are counted from. Put it in writing, on the first page.
Warranty enrolment or registration number
If the home is enrolled with a warranty program or provider, the number the owner will be asked for.
Floor plan or model name
Useful for the builder too: every home on the same plan shares most of its products.
2. The warranty, in plain words
The warranty document itself, and a one-page summary the owner will actually read. The summary is where most packages fall short.
Each coverage period
What it covers and the date it ends for this home, not only how many years it lasts.
How to make a claim
Where to send it, what to include (photos, the product, when they are home) and any windows or deadlines the program sets.
What counts as an emergency
The examples you treat as emergencies, and the numbers to call, day and night.
Normal upkeep, not a defect
The things new homes do in the first year, such as small drywall cracks and nail pops as the house settles, and what the builder does about them.
Third-party warranty provider
If one stands behind the warranty, its name, its contact and the written notice it asks for.
Manufacturer warranties
Which products carry their own warranty, how long, and which need to be registered by the owner, and by when.
3. Every product, room by room
For each appliance, fixture and system: what it is and where it is, so the owner (and the next trade) can find it without opening anything.
Brand, model and serial number
The three things every manufacturer and parts counter asks for first.
Install date and installer
Who put it in, so a problem in the first years goes to the right trade.
Manual and care instructions
The real manual for that model, not a generic brochure.
Heating and ventilation
Furnace or boiler, heat recovery or energy recovery ventilator, air conditioner and thermostat, with filter sizes.
Water
Water heater, softener or filtration, sump pump and backwater valve where fitted.
Envelope
Windows, doors, roofing and siding, with their product names and warranties.
4. Finishes and what was left behind
The questions that come up at the first touch-up or the first renovation.
Paint
Name, code and sheen for each room, ceilings and trim included.
Floors and tile
Flooring product and colour, tile, grout and caulk names.
Countertops and cabinets
Material, product name and care instructions.
Leftover materials
Paint, tile and flooring left for touch-ups, and where in the home they are stored.
5. Shut-offs and systems
Where to go in a hurry. A photo of each location is worth a paragraph of directions.
Main water shut-off
Where it is and how to close it.
Gas
The meter and appliance shut-offs, and what to do if they smell gas: leave, then call.
Electrical panel
Its location, with the circuits labelled.
Outdoor taps
How to drain and close them before the first frost.
6. Care through the seasons
A short list for each season and the maintenance that has an interval: filters, ventilator cores, exterior caulking, eavestroughs, grading around the foundation. A place for the owner to note what they did, and when, helps both sides when a claim comes in.
A move-in checklist helps too: change the locks or codes, register products, test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, find the shut-offs.
7. The record of handover
What was agreed on possession day, signed, dated and kept by both sides.
The signed pre-possession inspection
The PDI or walkthrough record, line by line, with photos where they matter.
The deficiency list
Everything still to finish or put right, and when the builder expects to do it.
Possession or completion certificate
Where your program or your own process uses one.
Keys and access
What was handed over: keys, fobs, remotes and openers.
8. Who to call
The builder's customer care or warranty service contact and hours, the emergency line, the trades whose own warranties apply to their work, and the utilities. Put the builder's own words first: what to call about, and what not to.
Paper, a folder of PDFs, or an app?
A printed binder is easy to hand over and easy to lose, and it never changes after possession. A folder of PDFs survives longer, but it is organised by file, not by room or product, and it cannot tell anyone that a warranty period ends next month.
A homeowner app keeps the same information as a record of the home: products by room, warranty dates counted against today, reminders, and service requests that start from the product. It takes setup for every home, which is why templates by floor plan matter, and it only helps if homeowners sign in, which is why it should come in the builder's own name with no app store download. Whatever the form, the owner should be able to print it.
Bindr Home is our version of that app: each part of this checklist is a part of the home's record. It is not the only way to do it well, and a complete paper package beats an empty app.
Questions people ask
What is a possession package?
It is the set of documents and information a builder gives a new homeowner at possession: the warranty, product manuals and details, finishes, shut-off locations, care instructions, the signed pre-possession inspection and the contacts for service. Builders also call it the homeowner manual, the home binder or the closeout package.
When should the homeowner receive it?
On or before possession day, with the signed pre-possession inspection added the same day, so the warranty periods and the deficiency list start from a shared record.
Should the package include the warranty years for our province?
It should include the coverage periods of the warranty the home actually has, with their end dates for that home, from your program's own documents. Programs differ by province and by provider, so use the program's wording rather than a general summary.