Question
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Ken
What sort of contracts are required for a business that sets up equipment so home owner can monitor their home themselves, no central station. Equipment to include home automation (thermostat, lights, etc.), environmental monitoring (temperature, moisture), premises (motion detectors, door/window contacts, cameras) via web hosted service? Homeowner purchases and owns the equipment but pays monthly hosting fees. No 3rd party monitoring or alerts to authorities. Business to be based in Michigan and target clientele with weekend getaway homes.
Don Waskiewicz
Deep Blue Insights, LLC
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Answer
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The sale and installation is covered by the Sales Contract. The remote viewing is covered by the Remote Video Monitoring Contract.
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Question on contracts in CA
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Hi Ken
I appreciate your articles on contracts & liability issues. I am would like to know how new York law & contracts apply or stand in CA.
How would I use a new York based contract in a California application .
I am in California & would love to use your contracts but Ca. laws ?
Thanks
Christopher Freeman
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Answer
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Our Standard Form Contracts are customized state by state to comply with state laws, even California - which by the way has lots of laws peculiar to CA.
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Starting date on Monitoring Contract
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Question
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Ken,
We are in the habit of getting our and our central station’s alarm contracts signed at the time of the sale. Neither of those contracts (ours was drafted by you) indicate a date for activation of service. Does the fact that the client has a signed monitoring contract without an active system open us up for any liability? We do provide monitoring certificates once the alarm is put on line. We sometimes don’t deliver an active working alarm system for several months to a year after the contracts are signed due to the construction schedule.
Curtis Cole
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Answer
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The Monitoring Contract is really designed for activation of the monitoring shortly after the contract is entered into, and for that reason the monthly monitoring charges start on the first of the next month.
If there is going to be a delay in providing monitoring you would indicate that in the schedule of installation, and of course tie the commencement of payment with start of monitoring service. Be sure to indicate that the full term of payments starts at the later date.