How much time off is necessary when building a new home?
Whether you have decided to start from scratch and build from the ground up or are buying a quick possession home that’s ready to go, you will find it necessary to take time off from work throughout the process. On the sales side of things, we work when you are off so we’re available at the times you are free (that is, if you have a conventional 9-5 job). However, the office, lawyers, and site managers also work those same conventional hours, so you may find yourself wrestling with their schedules.
Drafting Meeting
You will find that every builder has their own process and procedures but overall, the time required is similar. If you are building from scratch, your first potential required time off will be when meeting the drafters to go through all of the home’s plans. This typically only occurs if you are doing a fully custom home. This meeting can average 2 hours of your day – so plan accordingly.
Interior Selections
The next scheduled time off is the fun one! This is when you will meet up with the interior design team and select all the finishes inside of your home. This appointment can range anywhere from 2-3 hours, so it may not require a full day of work booked off.
Rough-in Walkthrough
Next comes the rough-in walkthrough. In this appointment your site supervisor will meet you on site to tour the home under construction. Sometimes your ASM (in this case, me) will meet on site to be there as well. You will be checking for any additional electrical add-ons such as; conduits, gas lines, etc. You will also be able to start seeing the home really come together here! For this appointment, expect 1-2 hours of your time needed (so booking a half day is sufficient).
Lawyer Meeting
Approximately 7-10 days before possession your lawyer will have booked a meeting. They will go through your documents to get all the signatures in order. This meeting is between you and your lawyer, so don’t expect the home builder to be involved during this time. Again, expect around 1-2 hours of time for this one.
Home Owner Orientation
Then, you will go through your Home Owner Orientation. In this meeting, you will do a full walkthrough of the home with your site supervisor. Again, this opens the door to discuss any discrepancies that still need to be fixed/completed. This meeting would require another half day booked off as it will be a few hours long. Now we are approaching possession day!
Possession Day
Your last meeting day is your day of possession. This is where your keys are released to you when the lawyers send over the documents (typically the morning of). One very important thing to note on this day is NOT to plan to move furniture over. It isn’t uncommon for something to happen that delays the key release. The last thing you want is a moving van waiting outside your home without the ability to bring any furniture inside.
Once you have completed the above meetings, the house is all yours! Congrats!
