The most exciting part of the build is seeing your completed home. Here’s what to expect during the final possession orientation

Getting to see your completed home for the first time is one of the most exciting parts of the building process. If you build with Kensington Homes, you’ve already toured your home before completion day and received updates on every milestone along the way. The finished home won’t come as a surprise to you – but we hope it may still take your breath away.

As one of the final stages of the build, our Possession Coordinator acquaints you with your home. She outlines some of the systems and maintenance you’ll be responsible for with your new home, and she double-checks that every bulb’s functioning along with every other finer detail. (And trust us, she’s very thorough!)

Read on for an outline of what to expect with our two-hour possession orientation – a checkpoint that has a little something for everyone.

“Most of the time when I’ve done the orientation, I’ve heard ‘I didn’t know that’ or ‘I didn’t know I would learn anything today,’” says Dana Fryza, walkthrough coordinator for Kensington Homes. “I think it reinforces that we’re selling our client not only a good home, but that they’re going to be taken care of and looked after.”

While the final orientation may be your first look at the completed home, there has been plenty of preparation before this to make sure it’s ready for you.

“Quality control is ongoing with site supervisors throughout the build,” explains Fryza. “Often times I’ll go in and do a pre-delivery inspection a week or two before the orientation and take a really good look at everything from the perspective of the homeowner.”

Through this inspection, Fryza is able to clear up any unfinished maintenance items so the homeowner has a move-in-ready home to tour on the orientation day.

Prior to the actual appointment, Fryza arrives about an hour early and jots down any remaining deficiencies she notes so she can point them out to the homeowner. She then alerts the site supervisor so it can be resolved before possession day.

“Your expectations are so high, but she walks you through it. I didn’t add anything to her list,” says Jess Willis, a Kensington Homes purchaser.

While Fryza’s attention to detail plays an important factor in clients’ overall happiness at the end of the build, she credits some of the earlier checkpoints for paving the way.

“By the time (the process) gets to me, really it’s very minor, solvable issues or concerns,” she says. “There’s not too much that can’t be taken care of and addressed at that point.”

How-tos for your home

Beyond the tour of the aesthetics and functionality of your home, an important piece of the orientation process is education.

Fryza wants to inform homeowners of a good working knowledge of the systems and expected maintenance of the home, so they feel confident once they’re handed the keys and take ownership.

“We have some state-of-the-art systems, and homeowners need to know how to run those systems and take care of their homes,” says Fryza. “At the very end, we talk about processes and procedures when (warranty issues or deficiencies) come up… and I leave them with a Kensington Warranty Manual with contact information in it as well as information on maintenance, including tips. – it’s a good reference point for them.”

As there’s a ton of information to download at this final orientation, it doesn’t stop and end there. Kensington follows up 30 – 60 days after you move in with another meeting to answer any questions and get a little more detailed about the mechanical aspects of your home.

This meeting is handled by the warranty coordinator – an apropos handoff as you’ve now entered Kensington’s extended warranty care program.

“We still have that really exceptional warranty program where we’re still covering the homeowner should there be any questions or concerns or issues that may come up,” says Fryza. “When the homeowner isn’t sure what to do, we just extend ourselves and say, ‘contact us.’”