Meritage Homes's Customers Performance

At the time a home is completed and delivered to a buyer, we typically hand off the process to a customer relations employee who manages the warranty and customer care efforts.
We generally provide a one-to-two-year limited warranty on workmanship and building materials and a ten-year warranty for the structural integrity on homes we build. We require our subcontractors to provide a warranty and indemnity to us as well as evidence of insurance before beginning work, and therefore any claims relating to workmanship and materials are generally the subcontractors’ responsibility. Although our subcontractors are generally required to repair and replace any product or labor defects, we are, during applicable warranty periods, ultimately responsible to the homeowner for making such repairs. Accordingly, with the assistance of an actuary, we have estimated and established reserves for future structural warranty costs based on the number of home closings and historical data trends for warranty work within our communities. Those projections are subject to variability due to uncertainties regarding structural defect claims for the products we use in the construction of our homes, the markets in which we build, claim settlement history, and insurance and legal interpretations, among other factors and we are, therefore, constantly monitoring such reserves. Historically, these reserves have been sufficient to cover net out-of-pocket warranty costs.

We believe that we have an established reputation for building a diversified line of attractive, high quality and efficient homes, which helps generate demand in each project. We also use advertising and other promotional activities, including our website at www.meritagehomes.com, social media outlets, magazine and newspaper advertisements, radio, brochures, direct mailings and the placement of strategically located signs in the vicinities near our developments. Our marketing strategy is aimed at differentiating us from other new homebuilders, and resale homes.

We sell our homes using furnished model homes as a marketing tool to demonstrate to prospective homebuyers the advantages of the designs and features of our homes.

We generally employ or contract with interior and landscape designers who enhance the appeal of our model homes, which highlight the features and options available for the product line within a project. We typically build between one and three model homes for each actively selling community, depending upon the number of homes to be built in the project and the products to be offered. We strive to implement marketing strategies that will educate our buyers on how our unique building techniques and the energy efficient features in our homes differentiate us from other homes. In our communities, we have built "learning centers" in order to inform our buyers about energy-efficient features and help them understand how and to what extent a Meritage home can reduce utility bills and provide improved livability and comfort.

Our homes generally are sold by our commissioned sales associate employees who typically work from a sales office typically located in a converted garage of one of the model homes for each project. We also employ a team of online sales associates who offer assistance to potential buyers viewing our communities and products over the Internet. Our goal is to ensure that our sales force has extensive knowledge of our housing product, our energy efficient and innovative features, our sales strategies, mortgage options, and community dynamics, in order to fully execute our marketing message. To achieve this goal, we train our sales associates and conduct regular meetings to update them on our product, sales techniques, competition in the area, financing availability, construction schedules, marketing and advertising plans, available product lines, pricing, options and warranties offered, as well as the numerous benefits and savings our energy efficient product provides. Our sales associates are licensed real estate agents where required by law. Our sales associates may also assist our customers to make standard selections and to select available options and upgrades, which we design to appeal to local consumer demands. In some divisions, we contract with third-party design studios that specialize in assisting our homebuyers with those selections to personalize their homes. Utilizing such third-party design studios typically allows us to manage our overhead costs more efficiently. We may offer various sales incentives, including price concessions, assistance with closing costs, and landscaping or interior upgrades, to attract buyers. The use, type and amount of incentives depends largely on economic and local competitive market conditions. Third-party brokers may also sell our homes, and are usually paid a sales commission based on the price of the home.

At the time a home is completed and delivered to a buyer, we typically hand off the process to a customer relations employee who manages the warranty and customer care efforts.
We generally provide a one-to-two-year limited warranty on workmanship and building materials and a ten-year warranty for the structural integrity on homes we build. We require our subcontractors to provide a warranty and indemnity to us as well as evidence of insurance before beginning work, and therefore any claims relating to workmanship and materials are generally the subcontractors’ responsibility. Although our subcontractors are generally required to repair and replace any product or labor defects, we are, during applicable warranty periods, ultimately responsible to the homeowner for making such repairs. Accordingly, with the assistance of an actuary, we have estimated and established reserves for future structural warranty costs based on the number of home closings and historical data trends for warranty work within our communities. Those projections are subject to variability due to uncertainties regarding structural defect claims for the products we use in the construction of our homes, the markets in which we build, claim settlement history, and insurance and legal interpretations, among other factors and we are, therefore, constantly monitoring such reserves. Historically, these reserves have been sufficient to cover net out-of-pocket warranty costs.

We believe that we have an established reputation for building a diversified line of attractive, high quality and efficient homes, which helps generate demand in each project. We also use advertising and other promotional activities, including our website at www.meritagehomes.com, social media outlets, magazine and newspaper advertisements, radio, brochures, direct mailings and the placement of strategically located signs in the vicinities near our developments. Our marketing strategy is aimed at differentiating us from other new homebuilders, and resale homes.

We sell our homes using furnished model homes as a marketing tool to demonstrate to prospective homebuyers the advantages of the designs and features of our homes.

We generally employ or contract with interior and landscape designers who enhance the appeal of our model homes, which highlight the features and options available for the product line within a project. We typically build between one and three model homes for each actively selling community, depending upon the number of homes to be built in the project and the products to be offered. We strive to implement marketing strategies that will educate our buyers on how our unique building techniques and the energy efficient features in our homes differentiate us from other homes. In our communities, we have built "learning centers" in order to inform our buyers about energy-efficient features and help them understand how and to what extent a Meritage home can reduce utility bills and provide improved livability and comfort.

Our homes generally are sold by our commissioned sales associate employees who typically work from a sales office typically located in a converted garage of one of the model homes for each project. We also employ a team of online sales associates who offer assistance to potential buyers viewing our communities and products over the Internet. Our goal is to ensure that our sales force has extensive knowledge of our housing product, our energy efficient and innovative features, our sales strategies, mortgage options, and community dynamics, in order to fully execute our marketing message. To achieve this goal, we train our sales associates and conduct regular meetings to update them on our product, sales techniques, competition in the area, financing availability, construction schedules, marketing and advertising plans, available product lines, pricing, options and warranties offered, as well as the numerous benefits and savings our energy efficient product provides. Our sales associates are licensed real estate agents where required by law. Our sales associates may also assist our customers to make standard selections and to select available options and upgrades, which we design to appeal to local consumer demands. In some divisions, we contract with third-party design studios that specialize in assisting our homebuyers with those selections to personalize their homes. Utilizing such third-party design studios typically allows us to manage our overhead costs more efficiently. We may offer various sales incentives, including price concessions, assistance with closing costs, and landscaping or interior upgrades, to attract buyers. The use, type and amount of incentives depends largely on economic and local competitive market conditions. Third-party brokers may also sell our homes, and are usually paid a sales commission based on the price of the home.