2-10 Home Buyers Warranty® (2-10 HBW®) is very proud to announce that that John Sizemore, 2-10 HBW’s SR Risk Management Specialist, has been highlighted in the Kentucky Builders Journal (KBJ) Member Profile section. KBJ has given us permission to repost their article below.
“John Sizemore is well-known to anyone who regularly attends HBAK meetings. A conversation with him often begins as a light-hearted exchange, but it doesn’t take long to realize that this industry veteran knows a lot about the issues that face home building and that he is passionate about preserving the industry.
A Harlan native, Sizemore graduated from Harlan High School, joined the U.S. Air Force and returned from the service to attend Eastern Kentucky University, where he earned his bachelor of business administration degree in 1979. He moved to Lexington and became a stock broker.
“It was a very up-and-down career, and it was those years that really matured me,” he said.
Five years later, Sizemore went to work as a mortgage banker and in 1989, he began to represent 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, which at the time was new to the new construction marketplace.
“There was only one warranty program in existence then, so I saw a tremendous opportunity,” said Sizemore. “I was already working with real estate agents through mortgage banking, and when this came along it was attractive to me because I could work with real estate agents and builders.”
Sizemore said 2-10 provides builders with three key business components: risk management, marketing and adherence to regulatory requirements.
“We save the builder time and money by limiting the total cost of disputes and claims,” said Sizemore. “It puts you in a prepared mode and gives builders consistency through a clear process of dispute resolution.”
In terms of marketing, 2-10 focuses on results of a National Homebuilders Association study, which showed that 80 percent of home buyers prefer a third-party warranty to a builder’s verbal warranty. “Offering a third party a written warranty is key to creating a balanced transaction that protects both builder and buyer, contained in a legal liability contract. Further, a warranty differentiates you from other builders in the same market,” said Sizemore.
In regard to regulatory requirements, 2-10 meets and exceeds the requirements of Kentucky law, which holds a builder liable for structural defects for seven years.
“It also allows builders outside of metropolitan areas where most counties do not enforce building codes to qualify for VA and FHA loans,” said Sizemore. “And for those builders who build in code-enforced counties, 2-10 assumes the structural liability upon the date of closing for 10 full years, with no liability or deductible to the builder.
“In a place like Fayette County where the codes are enforced, if you go with a VA or FHA loan, the warranty may not be mandatory but the builder will be bound to those government agencies for one year on materials and workmanship, two years for mechanical systems and four years on the structure. One should ask, do you want to be obligated to a federal institution?”
Association Involvement
“As soon as I was hired as a 2-10 representative that automatically put me in a situation to get involved in the home builders association to grow the market,” said Sizemore. “As you get deeper involved on the local level, then you are naturally pulled in to serving the whole state, and work on the state and national levels.”
Sizemore has chaired and served on many association committees, sometimes simply to stay abreast of what’s important to the industry. He’s been nominated an NAHB Associate of the Year and was chairman of the national Associate Members Committee.
“It’s important to educate builders and individuals who are not as active on issues that can affect their business because legislation and regulation can really have an impact on their business whether they be an associate or a builder member,” he said. “I always take the stance that if it affects a builder, then it will affect an associate.”
Sizemore believes the association will continue to play an essential role, but that it will need to make changes in the way it communicates with members.
“Without the service of the homebuilders associations, our jobs would be impacted and the cost of homes would far outreach a lot of buyers’ potential,” said Sizemore. “I don’t see that changing. But lifestyles will change and that will change the way we communicate with each other.
“I think the industry just needs to stay in focus with each generation because each one is different. When I was new, everybody was interested in getting together and doing things together. Today, it’s more about family, and our members don’t have time to do that. Trying to communicate more effectively with the different demographics is critical.”
Life Away From Work
Sizemore is the proud father of a son, Alex, and a daughter, Amber, and has three grandsons.
A day off for Sizemore would include a workout and time spent reading his Bible. His faith is important to him, and he is concerned about the lack of empathy he witnesses in the world around him. “I just wish more people would be more caring and understanding and compassionate. We’ve got to work with people. We need to be patient and lift people up.”
It’s clear that Sizemore makes an effort every day to do just that, lift people up, through his easy laugh and energetic approach to whatever he’s doing. He wants to promote local homebuilders associations for the positive things they bring to the families in their communities. And it seems like he’s got a good 26-year start to that goal.”
To download the full article, including pictures, click here and navigate to page 20.
Kentucky Builder’s Journal (KBJ) Magazine
July/August 2016 Issue
