HUD Form 92544: How to Use It When You Close on an FHA Home

HUD Form 92544 is the “Warranty of Completion of Construction” used in many FHA-insured new construction and newly built home purchases. It is a one-page warranty form the builder signs and gives to the buyer and the lender, promising to repair certain defects that show up in the first year after the home is finished.

If you are buying a new or newly built home with an FHA-insured mortgage, HUD 92544 is commonly part of your closing package, especially for one- to four-unit properties. The form is handled within the FHA program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and you’ll usually see it through your FHA lender or the builder, not by applying directly to HUD yourself.

Quick summary of HUD 92544 (Warranty of Completion)

• HUD 92544 is a one-year builder warranty form for new or newly built homes financed with FHA loans.
• It is signed by the builder, not HUD, and given to the buyer and lender at or before closing.
• It typically covers defects in materials or workmanship, not normal wear and tear or owner-caused damage.
• You do not file this form with HUD; you use it directly with the builder if problems arise within the first year.
• Your main official touchpoints are your FHA lender and local HUD Homeownership Center (HOC) if you need help understanding FHA rules.

1. What HUD 92544 Is and When It Actually Applies

HUD 92544 is a standard HUD form used with many FHA-insured loans for new construction or properties less than one year old that have not been previously occupied. The form documents a one-year warranty from the builder to the buyer that the home is constructed according to the approved plans and is free of specific defects.

In practice, you will see HUD 92544 when:

• You are buying a brand-new home with an FHA purchase mortgage.
• You are buying a home built within the past year that has never been occupied, using FHA financing.

It is not a general “HUD warranty” on any house; it is tied to your specific property, builder, and FHA loan and is usually required by the FHA lender as part of the case file. Rules can vary slightly by property type and by location, so your lender or local HUD office may handle some situations differently.

Key terms to know:

• FHA loan — A mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (part of HUD), often with lower down payments.
• Builder’s warranty — A written promise by the builder to fix certain construction defects for a limited time.
• Completion of construction — The point when the builder states the home is finished and ready for occupancy.
• Homeownership Center (HOC) — A HUD regional office that oversees FHA single-family policies and questions.

2. Where HUD 92544 Comes From and Who Handles It

You never go to a public counter and ask for “a HUD 92544”; instead, the FHA lender or builder prepares the form as part of your closing package. The builder signs it and gives copies to the buyer and the lender.

Your main official touchpoints around HUD 92544 are:

• Your FHA-approved mortgage lender or loan officer

  • They typically provide the form or make sure the builder uses it.
  • They must keep it in the FHA case file to show the property has the required warranty.

• Local HUD Homeownership Center (HOC)

  • This is the HUD office that oversees FHA single-family programs for your region.
  • If your lender can’t answer FHA policy questions about the warranty requirement, they often refer you to the HOC or HUD’s FHA Resource Center.

To find these officials, search for your state’s FHA-approved lender list on HUD’s official site and look up your region’s HUD Homeownership Center, making sure you are on a site ending in .gov to avoid scams.

A concrete step you can take today: contact your loan officer and ask, “Will my FHA loan require HUD Form 92544, and can you show me a copy before closing?” This gets the lender to confirm whether the warranty applies, and if so, you can review the coverage before signing.

3. What You Need to Prepare Around HUD 92544

You normally don’t fill out HUD 92544 yourself, but you often have to provide or confirm information the builder and lender rely on when issuing it and closing the loan. Having these ready reduces delays.

Documents you’ll typically need:

• Signed purchase agreement/contract with the builder that includes the property address, agreed price, and description of the home.
• Final inspection report or certificate of occupancy from the local building department, showing that construction is complete and the home is approved for occupancy.
• Government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license or state ID) for closing and loan documentation, which is often checked when you sign the closing package containing HUD 92544.

In addition, it is useful to keep:

• A copy of your FHA loan estimate and closing disclosure, so you know the property details and case number tied to the warranty.
• Any written builder warranty booklet or addendum; HUD 92544 and the builder’s separate warranty documents often work together.

Before closing, ask your lender or closing agent to place a copy of the signed HUD 92544 in your final closing packet so you have it for future reference when you need to request repairs.

4. Step-by-Step: How HUD 92544 Fits Into Your FHA Home Purchase

A. Before closing: making sure the warranty is in place

1. Confirm that your loan is FHA and the property qualifies as new or newly built.
   Ask your loan officer directly, “Is my loan an FHA-insured mortgage, and is my home classified as new construction or less than one year old and never occupied?”

2. Ask whether HUD 92544 is required for your case.
   If it is, request that the lender or builder provide a draft copy of the form for you to review before closing.

3. Verify that construction is complete and inspected.
   Make sure the final inspection or certificate of occupancy is issued; this is commonly required before the warranty of completion can be signed.

4. Review the builder’s warranty coverage and timelines.
   Compare HUD 92544 and any separate builder warranty materials so you know what is covered for the one-year period and how to submit repair requests.

What to expect next: Your lender’s closing department will typically include HUD 92544 in the stack of documents you sign at closing (though usually the builder signs it before or at the same time). Copies should go to you, the lender, and sometimes be kept in the builder’s file.

B. At closing: making sure you get a copy

5. At the closing table, ask the closing agent specifically for HUD Form 92544.
   Say something like, “Can you confirm that the HUD 92544 Warranty of Completion is in my closing package and that it’s signed by the builder?”

6. Check that the property address and builder information match your purchase contract.
   If anything is clearly incorrect (wrong address, wrong builder’s name), ask the closing agent to pause and contact the lender/builder to correct it before finishing that part of the packet.

7. Keep your signed copy in a safe place.
   Store HUD 92544 with your closing documents, either in a physical folder or a scanned digital copy, because you’ll need it if you claim repairs under the warranty.

What to expect next: After closing, the lender typically finalizes the FHA case submission with HUD, including proof of the one-year warranty on new construction. You won’t usually hear directly from HUD about HUD 92544; instead, you just live in the home and use the warranty if problems appear.

C. After move-in: using HUD 92544 if something goes wrong

8. Document the problem within the one-year period.
   Take photos, keep dates, and write a short description of the defect (for example, “cracked foundation in northeast corner of basement, noticed three months after move-in”).

9. Contact the builder following the instructions on the warranty.
   Use the builder’s official service email, phone number, or portal; reference HUD 92544 and send copies of your photos and written description.

10. If the builder is unresponsive, loop in your lender or local HUD contact.
    While they cannot force repairs, an FHA lender or HUD Homeownership Center can often clarify what is supposed to be covered and suggest next steps, like state contractor complaint options or dispute resolution.

What to expect next: Builders usually schedule an inspection or send a repair crew if the issue is covered. Response times vary by company and location, and no agency can guarantee how quickly repairs will be completed.

5. Real-world friction to watch for

Real-world friction to watch for
A common snag is buyers assuming that HUD 92544 is “filed somewhere with HUD,” then discovering months later they never got a copy and don’t know how to contact the builder’s warranty department. To avoid this, confirm at closing that you have the signed HUD 92544 in your packet and immediately scan or photograph it, along with any builder warranty booklet, so you can easily attach it to emails or provide it if you need help from your lender or a local housing counselor.

6. Getting Legitimate Help and Avoiding Scams

Because HUD 92544 is tied to an FHA-insured mortgage and a newly built home, it touches money, credit, and housing, which attracts scams. No legitimate official will ask you to pay a fee just to “activate” or “register” your HUD 92544 warranty, and you never need to send it to a third-party website for it to be valid.

For legitimate help:

• Start with your FHA lender’s customer service or your loan officer.
  Use the phone number or contact information listed on your loan disclosures or the lender’s official .com or .gov site.

• Contact a local HUD-approved housing counseling agency.
  Search for “HUD-approved housing counselor [your state]” and use a site ending in .gov to get the official list; counselors can explain what the warranty typically covers and help you plan conversations with the builder.

• Reach out to your regional HUD Homeownership Center or the FHA Resource Center.
  Use the contact information from HUD’s official .gov site; they can’t enforce your contract, but they can explain FHA’s warranty requirements and what’s standard.

If you call an office, a simple script you can use is: “I’m a recent FHA homebuyer, and my builder signed HUD Form 92544. I need help understanding what this warranty typically covers and what my options are if the builder isn’t responding.”

If anyone claims they can “upgrade” your HUD warranty or “speed up HUD approval” in exchange for upfront payment, end the conversation and verify any information directly through your lender or an official .gov housing or HUD site.