After you buy
What happens after you get the keys
Buying a new home is the easy part to picture. What most people actually worry about is the year that follows — who to call, what's covered, and whether anyone picks up. So here is exactly how it works, before you buy rather than after.
Every Eagle Quest purchaser gets a printed New Home Buyer Package at possession. This page is what's in it.
Step one
The possession-day walkthrough
Before you're handed the keys, we walk the house with you room by room. Not a formality — it's a real inspection, and you're the one signing it off.
We go through:
- Grading and drainage, driveway, siding, roofline and eavestroughs
- Every exterior door, lock, window, latch and screen
- The garage door, remotes, photo eyes and manual release
- Kitchen appliances, sink shutoffs and the range hood filter
- Bathrooms and laundry, including every shutoff valve under the sinks
- Furnace, thermostat and filter size, hot water tank, HRV if fitted, and the main water shutoff — demonstrated, not just pointed at
- The electrical panel and its labelled circuits
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and how to test them
You leave knowing where the water shutoff is. That one detail saves more homes than anything else on the list.
Step two
The deficiency list
Anything not right on walkthrough day goes on a written deficiency list — location, the concern, and the follow-up. Both of us sign it. You keep a copy.
Nothing about that list depends on anyone's memory of a conversation in a hallway. If it's on the list, it's committed to.
Your keys
House keys, mailbox keys, window and door keys and garage remotes are counted and handed over at the same time, along with every appliance manual and warranty card.
Your coverage
Alberta new home warranty — 1, 2, 5 and 10 years
Every home is covered under Alberta's mandatory new home warranty. Coverage steps down in four stages, and the longest one runs a decade.
| Period | What's covered | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | Materials and labour | Finishing items — baseboards, flooring, trim and other covered defects. |
| 2 years | Delivery and distribution systems | Heating, electrical and plumbing systems. |
| 5 years | Building envelope | The parts separating heated space from outside — roof and exterior walls. |
| 10 years | Structural | Load-bearing structure, including the frame and foundation. |
The official warranty policy and certificate govern coverage, deadlines, exclusions and claims. The table above is a plain-language summary only. You receive the full printed warranty package at possession.
What we ask of you
Warranty coverage assumes the home is looked after. In practice that means: submit concerns within the required timelines and through the required process, keep the home ventilated and humidity under control, change the filters, keep grading and drainage doing their job, protect against freezing in winter, and report leaks or water intrusion promptly rather than watching them. Keep dated photos, invoices and case numbers.
First week
Register your appliances
Appliances are warrantied by their manufacturer, not by us — so they need registering in your name. It takes about ten minutes and it is the single most commonly skipped step in the whole package.
- Find the brand, model number and serial number on the appliance label or in the manual.
- Register with the manufacturer as soon as you can after possession.
- Keep the confirmation email or a screenshot with your package.
- For service in the first year, call the warranty number in the manual and write down the case number.
- If the problem looks like installation rather than the appliance itself, call us as well.
There's a table in your package for fridge, range, dishwasher, microwave and hood fan, washer and dryer — brand, model, serial, date registered and warranty phone number. Fill it in once and you'll never hunt for it again.
Don't remove or paint over the rating plates. Service providers need them to verify coverage.
The first year
When to call us
- Something on the deficiency list from walkthrough day.
- A workmanship or materials concern that shows up during the first year.
- A system problem that looks like installation rather than the equipment.
- You need something explained — maintenance, a warranty submission, or a detail specific to your home.
What to have ready
It gets sorted faster when the first message includes:
- Your address, name and the best number to reach you
- Which room, and where in it
- What's happening and when you first noticed
- Photos or a short video, if they help
- Whether water, heat, electrical or safety is involved — that moves it up the queue
- For appliances: brand, model, serial and the manufacturer's case number
Keeping it right
Seasonal maintenance
A new house in Alberta needs looking after, particularly through the winter. None of this is difficult, and staying on top of it protects both the home and your warranty coverage.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Check the furnace filter and change it if dirty. Clean the range hood filter. Test the GFCI outlets. Look under the sinks for leaks. Test smoke and CO alarms. Clear the dryer lint screen every load. |
| Every 3 months | Clean bathroom fan grilles. Check HRV filters if fitted. Inspect the caulking around tubs, showers and sinks. Run water in drains you rarely use. Test the sump pump if you have one. |
| Spring | Check grading and drainage once the snow has gone. Make sure downspouts discharge away from the foundation. Clear the window wells and exterior vents. Turn the outside taps back on only once the freezing risk has passed. |
| Summer | Keep the ground sloping away from the house. Keep soil and mulch below the siding clearance. Clean the windows and tracks. Check the concrete and seal any gaps. |
| Fall | Shut off and drain the outside taps and disconnect the hoses. Clean the gutters. Service the furnace before the heating season and change the filter. Check the weather stripping. |
| Winter | Keep the heat on, even when away. Keep the garage door closed. Keep furnace intake and exhaust vents and the meters clear of snow and ice. In extreme cold, open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls. Know where the main water shutoff is. |
| Annually | Book furnace and HVAC service. Clean the dryer duct. Inspect the roof and eaves from the ground. Review your home insurance. Check for appliance recalls. |
If a pipe freezes: shut the water off if you can see a leak and call a qualified plumber. Never use a torch or any open flame to thaw a pipe.
Questions before you buy?
If you'd like to see the full New Home Buyer Package before making a decision, just ask — we'll walk you through it. There's nothing in it we wouldn't show you first.
Call 780-670-1121, or use the form.
You may also want to look at thelocal and emergency contacts for Calmar.