# What Software Does a Lower Mainland Home Builder Need?

> BC's 2-5-10 home warranty makes the record after possession as important as the build. What software a Lower Mainland home builder needs to tie each home to its permit, schedule, trades, changes and warranty file.

*By AltaPro AI Team · Published 2026-10-27 · Updated 2026-10-27 · 5 min read · Category: British Columbia*

A Lower Mainland home builder needs software that ties every home to its permit, schedule, trade packages, change orders, buyer selections and warranty file, from enrolment through the years after possession. BC's 2-5-10 home warranty makes the after-sale record as important as the build itself. Builders who keep that history in one system answer warranty requests faster and hand buyers a cleaner file.

## Warranty Starts Before the Foundation

BC Housing states that all new homes built by licensed residential builders in B.C. must have 2-5-10 home warranty insurance. It summarizes the coverage as two years on labour and materials (some limits apply), five years on the building envelope including water penetration, and ten years on the structure of the home.

That means a builder is accountable for records long after the last trade leaves: what was installed, by whom, when it was inspected and what the buyer was told. A builder whose records live in email and job folders spends real hours every time a claim arrives.

## One Record per Home

The centre of a builder's system is the home, not the project spreadsheet. Everything that happens to it attaches there:

- Permit, enrolment and inspection dates
- Schedule and trade packages, with the subcontractor for each scope
- Buyer selections and every change order, signed and priced
- Photos at key stages, especially of the building envelope before it is closed in
- Deficiency lists at possession and every warranty request after it

## Trades and Schedules Across Many Sites

Surrey is BC's biggest residential build-out, and builders across the Lower Mainland run several homes or phases at once with the same pool of trades. The schedule that matters is the one that shows which trade is due at which home this week, and what is holding the next one up.

When trades confirm, report completion and upload photos from their phones, the site super stops being the only person who knows where every house stands.

## Change Orders and Buyer Selections

Most builder disputes start with a change that was agreed verbally. Changes captured in writing, priced, approved by the buyer and pushed to the right trade package remove that argument, and they feed straight into the final statement of adjustments instead of being reconstructed from texts.

## Warranty Requests After Possession

After possession, buyers need one place to submit a request with photos, see its status and know what happens next. The builder needs each request tied to the home's history, so the right trade can be called back with the original scope in hand. A buyer portal, like those at /customer-portals, does both.

We come to you. AltaPro AI is based in Edmonton and comes on site for discovery and go-live, wherever your business is. Between visits, the work runs over video, phone and screen-share. Our production work includes one system for the entire back office of a general contractor in Edmonton and Calgary (client-reported). The construction scope is at /software-for-construction, and our Lower Mainland pages are /ai-automation-richmond, /ai-automation-surrey and /ai-automation-vancouver.

## FAQ

### What Does BC's 2-5-10 Home Warranty Cover?

BC Housing summarizes it as two years on labour and materials (some limits apply), five years on the building envelope including water penetration, and ten years on the structure of the home. BC Housing states that all new homes built by licensed residential builders in B.C. must carry it.

### Can Buyers Submit Warranty Requests Online?

Yes. A buyer portal lets homeowners submit requests with photos, see the status, and receive updates, while the builder sees each request against the home's full construction history.

### Does It Work With Our Estimating and Accounting Tools?

It should. The home record can integrate with the estimating and accounting packages you already run, so budgets, change orders and invoices stay consistent without double entry.

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Source: https://www.altaproai.ca/blog/lower-mainland-home-builder-software · AltaPro AI (read "Alberta Professional AI"), an Edmonton software development company. Free 30-minute call: https://www.altaproai.ca/#audit