Some major home systems will need to be replaced over time. Because these repairs are expensive and important, all Community Home Trust homeowners join our Stewardship Program, which helps cover the cost of certain major replacements and repairs.
Commonly covered systems:
- floor coverings (review flooring guidelines below)
- central heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system (HVAC)
- roof and gutter system
- water heater
- exterior paint and siding
- termite treatment
The Stewardship Program may not cover systems that are your HOA’s responsibility.
Contact CHT Administration and Resident Services Manager Carly Stearns at cstearns@communityhometrust.org or 919-967-1545 x 708 to discuss your project needs and with any questions.
Review the information below for more program details.
Additional Information & Approved Vendors
Frequently Asked Questions
Since every home is different, Community Home Trust staff can tell you exactly which systems in your home are covered by the Stewardship Program. Most often, the systems covered are
- roof and gutter system
- water heater
- central heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system (HVAC)
- floor coverings
- exterior paint and siding
- termite treatment (including annual termite warranty inspections)
If you live in a development with a homeowner’s association (HOA), the HOA may be responsible for maintenance of some of the systems listed above (the roof, exterior paint, and termite treatment, for example). The Stewardship Program does not cover systems that are your HOA’s responsibility. And, since some homes have unique needs or systems, it’s possible other systems in your home may be covered.
If you have questions about what the Stewardship Program covers in your home, please contact CHT Administration and Resident Services Manager Carly Stearns at cstearns@communityhometrust.org or 919-967-1545 x 708.
Most of the repairs and maintenance required for your home during the time you live in it will not be covered by the Stewardship Program. Examples of items that are not covered:
- repairs to plumbing
- repairs to electrical systems
- repairs to interior walls
- appliances
This is not an exhaustive list, but these are some examples of repairs you should not expect the Stewardship Program to cover.
For roofing, HVAC, water heater, paint and siding, and termite treatment:
- Contact an approved contractor to obtain a diagnosis and estimate. You can access a list of approved contractors here. Be prepared to pay for the initial service call, but do not pay anything else until you have confirmation from us about what will be covered.
- Contact Community Home Trust. Call or email CHT Administration and Resident Services Manager Carly Stearns at cstearns@communityhometrust.org or 919-967-1545 x 708 to discuss the work needed and the estimate(s) you have acquired.
- Complete and submit the application here. If further information is needed, you will be contacted by a member of Community Home Trust’s staff.
- Wait to hear back from us about what the Stewardship Program will cover. We may need to ask for more details or another estimate, depending on the project, so do not begin the work until you hear from us.
- Schedule and oversee the replacement or repair. The homeowner or another responsible adult must be home to oversee the work. Homeowners may also need to be present for Town mechanical inspections of new HVAC equipment.
For flooring:
- Contact a contractor to obtain an estimate. You can access a list of approved contractors here. Be prepared to pay for the initial service call, but do not pay anything else until you have confirmation from us about what will be covered.
- Contact Community Home Trust. Call or email CHT Administration and Resident Services Manager Carly Stearns at cstearns@communityhometrust.org or 919-967-1545 x 708 to find out what will be covered. There are specific guidelines for the amount that is covered based on the age of your existing flooring, so this amount varies by home.
- Complete and submit the application here. If further information is needed, you will be contacted by a member of Community Home Trust’s staff.
- Schedule and oversee the work. The homeowner or another responsible adult must be home to oversee the work.
- HVAC
- Water heater replacement
- Roof replacement
- Exterior painting
You can find a list of CHT-approved contractors here.
Repairs for covered systems (HVAC, roof, and exterior siding) are subject to a $500 owner payment, plus the use of insurance proceeds if the repair is covered by owner’s insurance or the HOA’s insurance. Stewardship funds can then be accessed for any remaining outstanding balance. If the homeowner is on an annual maintenance plan for the HVAC system, and can prove the system has been serviced within the past 6 months, the $500 minimum requirement is waived.
CHT cannot approve stewardship requests urgently or outside of regular business hours. If an emergency repair is needed for a system in your home that you believe to be covered by stewardship (for example, an HVAC outage on a hot summer day over the weekend), you do not need to wait for your stewardship request to be approved to move forward with the repair. Please follow the normal steps to request stewardship funding and proceed with the repair while you wait for our review.
Whenever possible, please use a CHT approved vendor for your emergency repair. If a CHT approved vendor is not available, you may hire another vendor to fix the problem. Please note that in the case of an emergency repair and/or use of a non-approved vendor, the vendor may require you to pay for the repair yourself and then seek reimbursement from CHT.
Please note:
- CHT will only reimburse you if the work passes CHT inspection, you provide all requested paperwork, and you provide proof that you paid the contractor in full, such as a receipt
- CHT does not reimburse higher costs for after‑hours, weekend, or emergency rates
- CHT may require a proposal from a CHT approved vendor to decide how much funding can be approved
- Reimbursement is not guaranteed
If you use a non‑approved contractor for an emergency:
- The contractor must be licensed and insured
- You must pay the contractor yourself
- You may ask CHT for reimbursement after the emergency is resolved
DIY work is not allowed for Stewardship funding.
- Work must be done by a licensed and insured contractor
- Homeowner‑performed work will not be reimbursed
- Contractors must agree to invoice CHT directly
Stewardship funds cannot be used to repair or replace systems that are under warranty. CHT staff can help you with warranty service if needed.
The Stewardship Program is primarily intended to be used for systems that fail completely. That being the case, most often the preference will be to replace the failed system. In some cases, however, repair may be an option. The determination of what is covered will be based on the estimate provided by the contractor and an assessment by CHT staff.
In the case of a replacement of a failed system, there is no out of pocket cost for the homeowner. In the case of a repair of an existing system, the homeowner is responsible for the first $500 of the total cost.
As soon as you buy your home, you begin paying a monthly stewardship fee and are fully eligible to use the program.
We set stewardship fees so that they cover the estimated, inflation-adjusted cost of periodically replacing your home’s major systems over the next 30 years. Our cost and life-expectancy estimates are based on systems typically encountered in homes similar to yours. We do not adjust stewardship fees to match the exact makes, models, or life expectancies of the systems installed in your home. We may adjust stewardship fees once every year to cover increases in material and labor costs, but your fee cannot increase more than 5% from one year to the next.
In 2019, all Stewardship accounts were pooled into one account. Now any approved expenses can be paid for without limiting funding for future additional expenses.
Contact CHT Administration and Resident Services Manager Carly Stearns at cstearns@communityhometrust.org or 919-967-1545 x 708.
