RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

Birtcher Home Warranties: Most residential developers give buyers a one- or two-year warranty on their new homes these days.

A few, following the lead of Presley of Southern California in Newport Beach, have even begun offering extended warranties for as long as five years.

Presley, like most of its competitors, builds what it backs.

But some other developers aren’t the actual builders; they do the planning and marketing but hire a general contractor to oversee construction.

In those cases, the developer issues whatever warranty there is, but the general contractor--who is really responsible for the buildings--often slips away into the sunset.

Now Birtcher Construction Ltd., the Laguna Niguel general contracting arm of the privately owned Birtcher development companies, is changing that. Birtcher has established its own five-year warranty on all homes it builds--regardless of who sells them--and regardless of what kind of warranty the developer-of-record is offering.

The program is being launched in conjunction with the start of sales at the Birtcher-built Heights at Marina Hills development in Laguna Niguel, a tract of 20 homes priced from $365,000 to $400,000 that Birtcher is building for Monarch Communities.

The warranties, which take effect at the close of escrow, cover material and workmanship defects in roofing, framing, drywall, caulking, plumbing, electrical systems, appliances and equipment; and are transferable to all owners for the five-year period.

Birtcher is now building homes in Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Apple Valley, Simi Valley, Riverside, Pomona, Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles and Hawaii.