How Long Will My Home Take To Build?

I was just talking to someone the other day.

They were helping their grandparents find a new home close to them.

Like many active seniors, we want to live near family. This couple’s biggest concern wasn’t just finding a house nearby, but finding one of our homes near enough and ready when they wanted it.

Location is everything, except when it isn’t.

And when isn’t it about location?

When you have a moving deadline and you need a place to stay.

There is a lot to coordinate and plan.

First, let’s explore when you want to move.

Nobody wants to be stuck in the middle of a move, without a home. Usually it involves moving everything at least twice, not to mention inconveniencing whatever family you crash with in the interim.

Most families are happy to let you move in, temporarily. But then you have to deal with storage of your belongings. Frankly, it’s just not convenient. So ideally, you’ll be able to set up your move as close to the actual moving day as possible.

This is not easy. Often it’s impossible. There can be a myriad of reasons for this. First off, you can’t always control the person buying your home, nor the person buying theirs. Then there is the touchy subject of construction delays.

Sometimes, no matter how well we all plan, somebody is often waiting for somebody else. The best time to move, is probably just after you expect your new home to be completed. I like to give my move an extra week if I can manage it, just in case of a last minute hiccup in the construction schedule.

Second, how much do you want to customize your home?

When you’re dealing with a custom homebuilder, options and upgrades could extend your closing date anywhere from a week to a month. I’ve even seen some builders take a good two or more months extra just for little goofy upgrades.

When you build with someone like Leisure Villas, most of our upgrades are designed to minimize the effects on our schedules. The most any upgrade can set us behind is a week or two. Even that only happens, if for some reason, a flooring option is back-ordered.

Third, what if there are delays?

Unfortunately, even we experience delays. Sometimes it’s due to weather, sometimes it’s due to subcontractor shortages. When you consider the train of coordination that needs to happen on the buyers end alone, a lot can go wrong. This can be multiple times harder on the contractors end.

As mentioned before, it’s not always easy to control the people behind and ahead of you. As builders, we sometimes run into the same issues, but with our subcontractors. At Leisure Villas, we are dedicated to finding new and better ways of honing our schedules and coordination between contractor, subcontractor, and you the buyer.

Occasionally, timing just doesn’t work out and in those instances, it’s nice to have a backup plan. Hiring a mover that can also store your belongings for a week or two is very helpful. Hotels can be expensive, so crashing with family might be an option.

Probably my favorite option, would be to let the movers hold onto your furniture, then go on a vacation. Moving can be stressful. Wouldn’t it be nice to come home to it after a nice relaxing get-a-way? Of course, this isn’t always possible, but having a backup plan is always a good idea.

So how long does it take?

On average, from the time we dig our holes, till we are ready to move you in, is about 6 ½ to seven months. For example, we’ve just put in our first two foundations in our Vineyard location at Waters Edge.

Those floorplans are scheduled to be completed around April.

Just because they’re half a year away, doesn’t mean that you should wait to buy. If you want to pick out your own flooring and cabinet options, buying early is better. Also, this should give you plenty of time to list your home and get it sold in time.