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You’ve watched, you’ve waited, and now the closing date is finally approaching. Congratulations! It’s almost time to move into your newly constructed home.
But before you and your builder can dot the Is and cross the Ts, you’ll need to complete one of the most anticipated parts of the home building process: your New Home Orientation.
What is a New Home Orientation?
If you live close to where your home is being built, chances are you’ve walked through the site before. Maybe you’ve even attended a Pre-Sheetrock Orientation where you had the opportunity to see the “behind the scenes” of your house.
The New Home Orientation differs from other walkthroughs. The goal is to give you, the buyer, a stem-to-stern overview of how your home was built and how it operates. By the end of the roughly three-hour orientation, you will have the information and resources you need to live in complete comfort in your home. After all, the efficiency features and technology that are built in to your home are only effective if you are comfortable using them!
Here are some of the pieces you can expect to go over during your New Home Orientation:
- Stories from your home’s construction: Lots of things can happen throughout the process of constructing a home. We’ll tell you all about the ups, downs, challenges, and triumphs that went into planning and building your house, so you can fully appreciate the character and uniqueness of the place you’ll soon call home.
- How everything works: From using the dishwasher to turning off the power and water, you’ll gain a full understanding of how each component of your home operates—and what to do in case something goes wrong.
- Energy efficiency measures: “Green” features have been specifically selected to make your home comfortable, reduce maintenance, and decrease energy costs. It’s important that you know what each component is, what it does, and how it works so that you can take full advantage of these green building benefits.
How to Enhance Your New Home Orientation Experience
This orientation is truly your opportunity to learn how to make the most of your home. Here are four ways to ensure that you get everything you want and need from the experience:
1. Allow plenty of time
The orientation typically takes about three hours, but each home and home buyer is unique. This is not a meeting you will want to “get out of the way” during your lunch break. To really make for a valuable and stress-free experience, give yourself plenty of time to focus, take in the details, and ask questions. Feeling rushed could mean missing important information and the chance to connect with your new home.
2. Ask questions
You’ll be getting a lot of information during your New Home Orientation, and that means you’ll also have a lot of questions. Don’t hesitate to ask what’s on your mind or speak up if you notice that anything seems off. There is no question too basic or too complex!
When you see your home near completion in person for the first time, it can be overwhelming—in an exciting way! But getting caught up in the moment could cause you to forget some of your questions. It may be helpful to write down your questions before the orientation and bring them along. If your questions aren’t already answered by the builder during the overview, you’ll be able to remember what you wanted to know. It’s good to pay attention and learn the nuances of how your home operates, because things are always changing. This makes upgrading to the newest and greatest that much easier.
3. Understand your documents
Don’t feel pressured to write down and remember every last detail! At the end of the New Home Orientation, you’ll be given two binders containing everything you need to know about your house, from site plans down to appliance and product manuals. We’ll detail what each document is and why it’s important for you to have it, so you’ll be sure to walk away with a firm grasp on the resources you have in each binder.
One of these resources is the Green Slides. These pages are filled with pictures that were taken before sheetrock was put up, and is your own behind-the-scenes look at your home that you can hold onto forever. Not only does it provide a sense of comfort knowing exactly what we did, but also highlights some of the aspects of your home that make it energy efficient.
4. Celebrate!
You’ve made it to the end of your New Home Orientation, and closing is just a few short days away! Stop for a minute and take it all in…this is one of the most exciting times in your life, so cherish the moment. Remember how you felt during your orientation, and remember that we’re so excited for you to begin this next chapter of your life. You will be moving in soon!