Most of the homes we have coming this fall are not finished yet. Some are just out of the ground, some are framed, and a few are getting tile and trim. That makes some buyers nervous, and it makes sense. You are used to judging a house you can walk through, where you can open the closets and run the faucets. But a house under construction tells you a lot, sometimes more than a finished one, if you know what to look at. Here is what each stage is good for.
Why look early at all
The plain reason is choice. Once a home is finished and listed, everyone sees it on the same day. Seeing it while it is still going up gives you the first look at the homesite and the plan, time to line up your loan and your move, and a real sense of how the house was put together before the walls close.
It also gives you time to ask questions while they are easy to answer. Where does the driveway run? Which way do the bedrooms face? How far back does the yard go before the tree line? None of that changes after closing, so it is worth knowing before.
One thing to keep straight: these are our homes, built on our own plans, with finishes we choose and list for each one. Looking early is about knowing exactly what you are getting, not designing it from scratch.
The foundation: read the land
Before there is a wall to look at, there is the lot, and this is the best time to study it. Stand where the front porch will be and look out. Notice where the sun comes up and where it sets, which way water runs after a rain, and how the driveway climbs to the house.
On acreage in Dickson County, ask where the septic field goes and how much of the yard it takes. It decides where a garden, a pool or a shop can sit someday, and it is easier to picture on a bare lot than under a finished lawn.
Framing: the house you can finally stand in
Framing is the stage we wish every buyer could see. The walls are up but open, so you can stand in each room, look through the window openings at the real view and feel the ceiling heights. Rooms that look small on a floor plan often surprise people here, in both directions.
Walk it slowly. Stand where the kitchen sink will be and look out. Check what you will see from the bed wall in the primary bedroom. Notice how the great room opens to the kitchen and dining area. We filmed a walkthrough of 1124 Ridgecrest at this stage, and it is on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube if you want to see framing before you visit.
Rough-in: the stage most buyers never see
After framing come the rough-ins: the plumbing lines, the wiring, the ductwork and a box for every outlet, switch and light. This is the last time you can see what lives inside the walls.
It is a good moment to picture an ordinary day in the house. Where will the TV go, and is there an outlet behind it? Where will the lamp go beside the bed? Is there a light where you will want one by the back door? The house is inspected at this stage too, before any drywall goes up.
Drywall: when it starts to feel like a home
Once the drywall is hung, the rooms read the way they will when you live in them. You can judge how much light each room really gets, how sound carries between the bedrooms and the living area, and how the hallways and closets feel at full size.
It is also when you can plan furniture with some confidence. Bring a tape measure and the size of your sofa. Measure the wall where the bed will go.
Trim and finishes: what you are actually buying
Cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring, lighting and paint go in during the last stretch. On our homes those materials are chosen by us and listed for each house, down to the paint colors and the cabinet stain, on the home’s virtual tour at southavenhomes.com. Walking the house now lets you see them in person, in that home’s own light.
Ask what has already been ordered. Once a material is ordered or installed, it stays. If you are under contract before something has been ordered, ask whether there is room to talk about it.
What a rendering can and can’t tell you
Some of our coming soon homes are shown with renderings of the plan, and we label them that way. A rendering shows the design and the finishes we picked. It cannot show the view from that particular kitchen window, the slope of that particular yard or how the stone looks in late afternoon light. That is what a visit is for.
Questions to ask at every visit
Keep these on your phone and ask them each time you walk a house under construction:
- What stage is the house in, and what comes next?
- When do you expect it to be finished, and what could move that date?
- What has already been ordered or installed, and is anything still open?
- Where are the septic field, the water line and the property lines?
- What does the warranty cover once we move in?
- Can we come back and see it at the next stage?
Come see one for yourself
Right now we have homes at nearly every stage. The Rockford plans are just getting started on Springfield Highway in Goodlettsville. The Sycamore plans are framed on Ridgecrest Drive at Greystone Golf Club and on Tidwell Road in Burns. And the Laura and the Hidden Valley are in their finish work on Ridgecrest Drive. You will find all of them under Coming Soon on the Homes page at southavenhomes.com, and several have virtual tours with every material named.
Please don’t walk an active job site on your own. Call or text us at (615) 574-3954, or write to info@southavenhomes.com, and we will meet you there.