XHouse1 First Build - timing is everything

At the conclusion of our last part of the story, our customer had contacted us and had their current home on the market. This was 4 years after our initial contact and their purchase of Design Prints of the XHouse1.

foundation prepared for pouring of concrete slabs at the Indiana XHouse1 site

The news that their home was on the market meant that the process had begun. Our customer MJ was concerned with the timing, and how long it would take for us to complete the Construction Prints so he could anticipate when he needed to order them from us.

In a case like this when a set of Construction Prints is not complete, we can typically complete them for a customer in 4-6 weeks. No longer than an out of stock lead time on most products. We handle a "pre-order" like this by taking a 50% deposit on the Construction Prints, and then charging the balance when the plan set is ready to ship.

In MJ's case he was trying to get a handle on the sequence of events that was to follow. If the plans were available, he could simply order them and have them in hand in a matter of days. But he needed to anticipate ordering them in advance of when he needed them so there would be no delay waiting for the plans to be completed. This was prudent planning because in a short time their house was under agreement and they were facing a settlement date.

As any family with children that is planning a move, the academic year is a concern, and so it was here. The plan was to be able to be in the new house by Summer of 2014 so the kids could start the new year in the new school. This book-ended a time line that framed the project. Everything needed to happen in order.

Their house was put on the market, and was under agreement. This was the foundation here, because once sold they were committed to moving. But if the sale fell through the rest would grind to a halt. With the house under agreement, they needed to locate a rental home where they would stay while the new house was built. They needed to find a site for the new home, in the communities and school systems they had previously researched. Now they needed to have the Construction Prints in hand so that they could begin the search for a builder, and the pricing of the work. A detailed proposal from a builder would be needed to secure their construction financing which was being shopped at the same time. And of course the financing needed to be in place in order to begin construction.

concrete being placed for slabs in the crawlspace, entry and home office slab in place at the Indiana XHouse1

You know from the photographs that the critical milestones of this path did come together for MJ and his family. We will review them in more detail as the story continues. As always if you want to see more images from construction you may follow the progress of the work in our Flickr set for this project.