Customer Care

Trendmaker wishes to build a home that will be a source of pride and pleasure for your family for many years to come. Our primary focus is for your Trendmaker experience to be safe, enjoyable and relaxed. Our ultimate goal is that you will be highly satisfied and refer Trendmaker Homes to your friends, family and associates.

With that in mind, the information below will provide you with a general guide to help you understand the Trendmaker processes and your role and responsibilities in those processes.

Your Safety
During construction your home is a job site, and it can be a dangerous job site. Your safety is of the utmost high priority to Trendmaker Homes.
Construction sites are filled with materials, tools and equipment that can cause serious injury. When you visit the job site we require that you wear a hard hat. We will provide you hard hats for your use from the sales office. We strongly encourage you to visit the home without your children, especially during the construction stages prior to sheetrock. If children do visit the home, please do not ever allow children to move about the home without your direct and immediate supervision.   (Return to top of page.)

Trendmaker Construction Quality
For more than thirty years Trendmaker has been trying to build the perfect home, and we have not been able to do it yet!
Unlike many builders, Trendmaker model homes are built and displayed with very few upgrades so that you can actually see what your Trendmaker home should look like. You can expect that your home will be substantially of the same finish standard as seen in our model homes.
Buying and building a new home is like no other purchase you will ever make. Most of the things that we purchase are made or built mechanically in a highly controlled environment, which we never see. Homes, on the other hand, are built by hand right out in the open elements for all to see. Each home, which is composed of several thousand individual components, is a unique, hand-crafted product combining art, science, technology and the raw labor of hundreds of tradesmen and vendors.
During construction, job sites are not pretty sites. Your home will be dirty and the site will appear disheveled, but in the end it will be a beautiful Trendmaker home.
Trendmaker is very proud of our reputation for satisfying our customers and of the homes we build. However, every home ever built, including Trendmaker homes, has its own cosmetic character, complete with flaws and irregularities.   (Return to top of page.)

Construction Drawings
Prior to the start of construction you will attend a Plan Review Meeting to review and sign your actual construction drawings. We will build your home in substantial, but not exact, conformity to that specific set of plans, and the features specific to your community.
Because we are continuously reviewing, improving and changing our plans, as well as meeting ever changing codes and regulations, your home and construction drawings are unique and are the most current set available. Your home's windows, cabinet configurations and other important elements are not likely to be the same as an existing home, or even a model home, with the same plan number that you may have seen or been shown in the past.
Additionally, due to varying windstorm requirements along the gulf coast, Trendmaker actually builds different versions of the same plan in different communities. Be advised that houses built in southeast Houston are similar to, but different from, houses built in other parts of the city further away from the coast.   (Return to top of page.)

Getting Your Mortgage
Getting the right mortgage lender can make a big difference in making the home buying process go smoothly. Your Community Sales Manager may suggest mortgage lenders with whom Trendmaker has had a successful history in providing good customer service and are able to work with each individual's specific needs.
The suggested lenders are reputable and qualified, but they are separate and distinct companies from Trendmaker and we do not control their fees, decisions or actions. Trendmaker Homes has no financial association or agreement with any mortgage company. Trendmaker buyers are free to shop for and obtain a mortgage from any mortgage company, provided that they allow you to comply with the terms specified in your purchase agreement.
As required by the home purchase agreement, you must apply for a loan within five business days from the effective date of the contract and obtain loan approval within forty five days from your contract date. This is a very important responsibility of yours and should be acted upon immediately.
There are some very important items for you to remember regarding your mortgage.

• First, if you are planning to finance items not covered by your original contract, such as additional upgrades or options, a swimming pool or window coverings, you must inform your lender as soon as possible, in that this information is required before loan approval. This information is also needed before ordering the appraisal.
• Secondly, if your home is nearing completion at the time of your purchase and you anticipate a quick closing, please make sure your lender is aware of this at your initial meeting.
• Third, each lender has their own checklist of the required information for loan processing. Be sure to obtain that list and promptly get every single item on the list turned into your chosen lender as soon as possible.   (Return to top of page.)

Getting Your Home Started
Trendmaker sells both started homes and homes not yet started. The processes for both are similar, however only you would be entering the process at a different point, but other important differences exist. The following sequence of events describes the process from its earliest point, before the home has started.

The Plan Review Meeting

If your home is not yet started, prior to the commencement of construction, you will attend a Plan Review Meeting. This meeting is designed to review, finalize and approve the drawings and options for your home. Other items covered at the meeting include;

1. Your plot plan, easements, and home and garage orientation.
2. Detailed review of the actual construction drawings for your home.
3. Finalize, document and pay for all pre-construction change orders.
4. Finalize all exterior selections and specific interior selections.
5. Address any outstanding questions.

You may want to mark up a floor plan from the sales office brochure with questions or desired options prior to the meeting and bring that with you to remind you of items and questions when you are at the meeting.   (Return to top of page.)

Communicating During Construction
During construction you are going to have questions and concerns. That is natural and to be expected. It is our job to communicate promptly with you to address these issues, while not delaying the construction of your home.
Your point of contact for all matters regarding your home is your Community Sales Manager, not your builder.
There are several ways to efficiently communicate with your Community Sales Manager. Fax or e-mail are the two best methods. E-mail being the best. Specific items of concern are always best communicated in writing. Please discuss with your Community Sales Manager how you would prefer to communicate questions you may have. Good communications with your Community Sales Manager is very important in making things go as smoothly as possible.
Builders and Community Sales Managers meet formally every Monday to review and discuss every home under construction. Written questions or concerns from customers are always discussed, but not always resolved, at those Monday meetings.
An important point to understand is that tradesmen are scheduled to work in homes at intervals. Therefore, an item you may observe and have brought to our attention may remain unresolved for many days or even weeks, waiting until that specific trade is back into the house to complete other items on that home. Please do not expect all your comments to be acted upon immediately, but feel free to re-fax or e-mail your Community Sales Manager again about any item.
Finally, if you wish to discuss your home in any detail with your Community Sales Manager, the best time to do so is during business hours during the weekdays. Weekends are often too hectic for a Community Sales Manager to give you the time and attention you deserve. Your cooperation and understanding is greatly appreciated.   (Return to top of page.)

About the Design Center
We are proud of the Trendmaker Homes standard selections. We display our model homes using nearly all standard selections and features because we believe our homes, without upgrades, are beautiful and of a high standard sufficient to meet discriminating buyers' expectations.
The world of customizing new homes is boundless. We have attempted to bring the most popular custom features into our design center to allow you to make your home a reflection of your personal taste, to make your dreams and visions come true. That is what the Trendmaker Design Center is all about!
Trendmaker provides a two hour consultation with a design consultant to assist you in making your final selections. Before your final design consultation, you should first attend a Design Center Orientation and then spend about two hours studying the available selections on your own making your preliminary selections.

Some Important Facts:

1. It is very important that your selections be completed in a timely fashion. Your Community Sales Manager will give you selection deadlines and it is critical for you to work within those dates.
2. Please make alternate plans for your children so you may experience the full benefits of our Design Center.
3. Products and materials are subject to availability. It is possible that your selections may be unavailable during the construction of your home. It is unfortunate and we try to display only products that we have confidence in being able to obtain, but it does happen.

Design Center Orientations

To fully appreciate and understand the Design Center one must attend an orientation. For your convenience we have fifteen orientations times every week.
You must first call, 713-690-2186, and schedule your orientation. After the thirty minute orientation you may spend up to two hours working on your preliminary selections so that you are ready for your two hour consultation with the designer.

The Final Two Hour Design Consultation

1. All appointments to the Design Center must be made by phone only, 713-690-2186.
2. Arriving on time is very important and canceling and rescheduling appointments must be done at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled appointment. Making the scheduled appointment is very important in that we are usually scheduled two weeks in advance.
3. Arrive on time to your scheduled appointment, as appointments begin and end at the scheduled time.
4. All prices are subject to change without notice. Posted prices are effective on the day you make your final selections and make payment for any upgrades.
5. A deposit is required when your upgrade selections are finalized during your consultation. If your house is a stage nine or less, a 50% deposit is required and at a stage ten or greater, a 100% deposit is required, these two stages are approximately the interior paint stage, ask your Community Sales Manager for specifics on your home.
6. Bring your check book to your consultation, as we do not accept credit cards.

Window Treatments
Window Treatments are available through the Trendmaker Design Center which provides competitive pricing and includes measuring and installation.

Important facts about window coverings:

• Only window coverings purchased from the Design Center may be financed into your mortgage.
• You may schedule a time with your design consultant, prior to your two hour consultation, to review window covering options.   (Return to top of page.)

Your Optional "Frame Walk" (If applicable)
Trendmaker offers our buyers the opportunity to walk their home with the builder to review the home after the installation of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing roughs, prior to covering the walls with sheetrock. The Frame Walk is not a quality walk. Rather, it is an opportunity for our customers to review the installation of all change orders and to discuss or ask any questions directly with your builder about the construction of your home.
The walk is optional and your Community Sales Manager must be advised of your desire to have the walk when your slab is poured or earlier. Once you have notified your Community Sales Manager of your interest in attending the walk, your Community Sales Manager will notify you of the schedule available for the walk.
Construction progress will not be delayed if you are not available at the time the home is ready to walk. This rarely is a problem when everyone knows well in advance that a walk is desired. The walk is done during business hours on a weekday.   (Return to top of page.)

Getting a Closing Date
We understand that everyone wants to know well in advance when their home will be finished. Predicting months in advance when a home will be complete is very difficult. We wish it were not so, but the truth is that we can not guarantee completion dates in the early or middle construction stages with any certainty.
Other discussions with your Community Sales Manager or builder about when they think the home might be ready, or how long it takes us to build a home, or a date that they are shooting for, are exactly that, discussions, purely anecdotal. It is not unusual for a home to take thirty or even sixty days more, or less, than the "typical" or anticipated construction time.

• You may observe that a home started after yours actually gets completed before your home. This is likely the result of trade and material availability, not because we would ever place a higher priority on one home over another.
• If your home is in a local municipality, such as League City or Missouri City, predicting construction times is even more difficult due to the required permitting and inspections.
• Please be very careful when locking loan rates with your mortgage company or in the timing of listing and selling your existing home. Trendmaker is not responsible for buyer expenses associated with second moves, storing furniture, loan rate locks or other expenses associated with desired or anticipated closing dates.

The closing date is a delicate subject and we really do not want it to become a problem. We want to finish your home as soon as possible. It cost Trendmaker more money to build a home slowly than to build it quickly, and remember, we do not get paid until your home is complete.   (Return to top of page.)

Final Steps to Closing
The following highlights the steps leading up to your closing:

1. Attend a Pre-Closing Meeting with your Community Sales Manager.
   In that meeting you will:
• Review your contract and verify all your deposits and balances due.
• Review the title company procedures and schedule.
• Receive and review the Trendmaker Homeowner's Manual.
• Review the warranty services procedures.
• Discuss the required utility transfers and any postal issues.
• Schedule your Demonstration Walk.
• View the "Preparation for a Smooth Closing" video.
2. Attend your Buyer Demonstration Walk with your builder.
   During the Demonstration Walk the builder will cover many important issues and we request that all purchasers on the Purchase Agreement attend the meeting. We also ask that small children not attend the meeting so that everyone can focus their full attention to the covered items. The meeting should take about one or two hours.
   The items covered in this meeting include:
• The operation of all mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems and appliances.
• A review of the manufacturers warranties, which are conveyed to you, on those covered components of your home.
• A discussion of required homeowners maintenance items
• A review of the Trendmaker customer service procedures for after closing.
• A final cosmetic review of the entire home.
• Schedule your Final Walk

Important Notes:

1. If you wish to have an independent inspector review your home prior to closing, this should be scheduled with your Community Sales Manager earlier than during your Pre-Closing Meeting. The inspection must be conducted prior to the Buyer Demonstration Walk and its timing will need to be coordinated with your builder.
2. During the cosmetic review of your home it is common for you to identify items which you feel require additional attention. Your builder will document those items and attend to them during the days between your Demonstration Walk and your Final Walk. Because those are the only days allotted for your builder to address all items of concern, it is important to understand that the list created at the Demonstration Walk must be the final list created. The cosmetic items documented at the Demonstration Walk are the last cosmetic items ever addressed by Trendmaker, other than those specifically covered by the Ten Year Limited Warranty Plus Program.
3. Your Final Walk
   The Final Walk will take place approximately five days after your Demonstration Walk. The primary purpose of your Final Walk is to review the items on the list created during the Demonstration Walk and to review with your builder any concerns or questions you may have about your home. As already stated, a new cosmetic list cannot be accepted at the Final Walk. Once the Demonstration Walk items have been reviewed you will sign a certificate of completion, your home will be locked and is then ready for your closing and move-in.   (Return to top of page.)

The Closing
The closing occurs at the offices of the title company. At the closing you will sign all required documents and make all final payments on the home. These are important things you can do to insure a smooth closing:

1. Confirm all your terms with your lender. Closing instructions and mortgage documents from the mortgage company are the source of the information required to compile the closing statement. Start working with your lender as much as ten days from closing to insure that everything is in order and as agreed.
2. Your insurance company will also need to forward information to the title company to be used in preparing the documents. Check with them early.
3. Instruct your mortgage company to "Table Fund" your loan. Trendmaker can not grant you possession or give you the keys to the home until your mortgage company has funded the loan.
4. Bring only a Cashier's Check, made payable to the title company, to the closing for your buyers contribution. Bank checks, drafts or personal checks cannot be accepted by the title company.
5. Arrive early to the title company for your closing appointment. The title company has reserved both a room and personnel for your closing. Being ready at the appointed time can make a big difference in allowing the closing to go smoothly and quickly.   (Return to top of page.)

Service After Closing

Trendmaker has a Warranty Department exclusively dedicated to providing service after your closing. While you may have become accustomed to communicating with your Community Sales Manager or your builder, now that you have closed, you will need to direct all communications directly to the Warranty Department. There is an office coordinator and a field representative assigned to your community.

Your warranty coordinator is available to assist you by phone with any questions you may have after move-in and is open all business days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You are provided a phone list of specific subcontractors and their phone numbers to call in case of an emergency during a weekend or holiday. We ask that you also contact our office at the time of the emergency or the next business day so we may follow-up on the repairs and document the event in our computer system.

Some important highlights about the warranty provide with your new home are shown below:

1. The Warranty Booklet which you receive at the title company should be placed inside your Homeowner's Manual. This manual specifically outlines your Limited Ten Year Warranty. It is important that you are familiar with this booklet. We are proud that our warranty program offers coverage above many industry standards, however, it is a limited warranty and important details are thoroughly covered in the booklet.
2. All warranty service requests must be made in writing, either by fax, email or U.S. mail. This is important to protect your rights under your home warranty. Warranty forms are also available on the Trendmaker website under "Contact Us - Warranty Department".
3. You are responsible for normal and routine maintenance of your home. Trendmaker will provide specific maintenance service during the first year and One-Time Maintenance Service as a courtesy and to give you the opportunity to observe the methods and materials required for the ongoing maintenance of your home. See your Homeowner's Manual for details on this select service.
4. All warranty work is performed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. Our coordinators and field representatives will work to met your scheduling needs during these hours. Our trades and vendors also schedule work only during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.
5. The Warranty Program is a limited warranty and covers only specific events or items for specific periods of time. It is important for you to become familiar with your warranty so that you will know what is covered and what is not covered. For example, cosmetic items such as cuts, scratches or texture variations are not covered by the warranty.
6. If there are any items of concern to you at the time of closing, these items must be in writing on the Final Walk Certificate. This is very important! Verbal discussions are not actionable after closing.
7. All warranty work must be provided by the original subcontractor used by Trendmaker in constructing your home. Trendmaker will not reimburse homeowners for the cost of work done by subcontractors other than those directly provided by Trendmaker.
8. It is important to note that "consequential" damages are not-warrantable by Trendmaker Homes. These damages are those other than the actual cost to correct a defect or defects or specified structural component failure. For example, personal property such as furniture or clothing or items such as shelter or transportation during repairs are examples of consequential damages and are not covered under the warranty.

Our warranty team receives high grades from our homeowners and they are dedicated to meeting your needs. Their only job is to provide the services defined in the Warranty Program. (Return to top of page.)

The Trendmaker Team
Building your new home is a privilege. Trendmaker Homes is comprised of employees who care about your satisfaction and the success of the company. Over the last three decades we have found that these two goals are one and the same.
Building new homes is a challenging and interesting career which we take seriously. Trendmaker employees are among the most tenured in the city. Employee retention and satisfaction is part of our company's equation for success.
Our goal is to develop our skills, knowledge and industry relationships to ensure that we build the most wonderful and beautiful homes possible. We measure ourselves by your satisfaction.
Thank you for selecting Trendmaker to build your new home!   (Return to top of page.)

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