Quick move-in or
build-to-order?

There are two ways to buy a new home at Parterre, and they're nearly opposite experiences. Here's the real trade-off between quick move-in and build-to-order — including the concession differences the brochure won't walk you through.

Most prospective buyers arrive at Parterre with one mental model of new construction — usually whichever model their friends or family went through. In practice, the community sells homes through two distinct channels with very different timelines and customization paths, and the right channel for you depends on factors that aren't always obvious at the first visit.

This piece walks through both, side by side, with the parts that matter most to your eventual experience.

Quick move-in: 30 to 60 days to keys

A quick move-in home (sometimes called a "spec" home, "inventory" home, or "QMI") is a home the builder has already started — or finished — without a specific buyer attached. The framing is up. The roof is on. The interior selections — flooring, cabinets, countertops, paint — were made by the builder's design team to a specification they believe will appeal broadly.

You walk in, you tour the home, you decide whether you want it. If you do, the contract-to-close timeline is typically 30 to 60 days, depending on what stage of completion the home is at and how quickly your financing closes.

What you get

Speed. Certainty. A home you've physically walked through, with finishes you can see and confirm. No surprises at the design center, because there is no design center visit. No tile-color regret. No paint-shade second-guessing. The kitchen island is already exactly the size it's going to be.

What you give up

Customization. The builder has chosen everything for you, with a finish package designed to be tasteful and broadly acceptable rather than personal. You will likely find at least one or two things that aren't your first choice. That's normal.

You also typically have less choice on lot — quick move-ins are built on lots the builder selected based on phasing logic, not buyer preference. Premium lots (corner, end-of-cul-de-sac, backing to open space) are more often held back for build-to-order buyers willing to wait.

Where the concessions hide

This is the part that surprises most buyers. Quick move-in homes carry the largest builder concessions in the entire community. The reason is structural: the builder is paying carrying costs every day a finished spec sits unsold. Their incentive to move it is high, and the concession menu reflects that.

Concessions you'll commonly see on a Parterre quick move-in: rate buydowns to the high 5s on a 30-year fixed (sometimes lower); closing cost credits in the $10K-$25K range; included blinds, washer/dryer, or refrigerator packages that would otherwise be separate purchases; occasional price reductions on homes that have been sitting longer than the builder targeted. None of these will be the headline price you see on Zillow. They're negotiated at the contract.

Build-to-order: 8 to 10 months to keys

A build-to-order home (sometimes called "presale" or "to-be-built") is exactly that: you choose a floor plan, you choose a homesite, you choose the finishes at the design center, and the builder constructs the home for you over the following eight to ten months. The clock starts at contract; it ends at certificate of occupancy and final walkthrough.

What you get

Choice. You select the floor plan, the homesite (within what's available in the active phase), the structural options (basement layout, additional bedroom, sunroom, three-car garage), and the design center finishes — flooring, cabinets, countertops, tile, paint, lighting, appliances. The home is built to your specification.

You also typically get the better lots. Premium homesites — corner lots, end-of-cul-de-sac, backing to open space — are more frequently allocated to build-to-order buyers, particularly buyers who get on the early-release notification list before formal release.

What you give up

Time. Eight to ten months is the median; weather, supply chain, and labor availability can push it. You'll also be financing or paying rent during that window, which is real money you wouldn't be paying on a quick move-in.

You also give up some negotiating room on concessions. Build-to-order homes carry less concession capacity than quick move-ins, because the builder isn't paying carrying costs on a spec — they're collecting earnest money against a not-yet-built home. The concession menu is shorter, though it's not empty. Rate buydown packages are still routinely available; closing cost credits are smaller; finish allowances at the design center are sometimes upgradable.

The design center reality

The design center visit is a longer experience than most buyers expect. Three to five hours, often broken across two appointments. You'll be making fifty to a hundred individual selections, each with multiple options, each with a price implication. Buyers who arrive without a clear sense of what they want — colors, finishes, priorities — often spend more than they intended on the upgrades that the design consultant is naturally inclined to recommend.

The single most useful thing a buyer's agent does in a build-to-order transaction is attend the design center appointment with you. The consultant is paid by the builder; their incentives are not perfectly aligned with yours. Having an outside voice in the room — particularly an experienced one who has seen what holds resale value and what doesn't — routinely saves buyers tens of thousands of dollars on selections that wouldn't have produced commensurate resale lift.

How to choose

The simplest decision frame:

If you...	Quick move-in	Build-to-order
Need to be in within 60 days	Yes	No
Want to choose every finish	No	Yes
Want the strongest concession package	Usually	Sometimes
Want a premium lot	Sometimes	Usually
Have a current home to sell	Tighter timing	More buffer
Are relocating from out of state	Easier	Harder logistics
Are first-time buyers	Lower-stress	More demanding

The two paths produce a similar end product — a new home in the same community, with the same warranty, the same builder, the same HOA. The decision is mostly about what you value more: speed and concessions on a home someone else specified, or full customization and your choice of lot on a home you specified yourself.

For buyers who can be flexible, we sometimes recommend touring both options on the same visit. Walking through a finished quick move-in helps you understand what the build-to-order version would feel like at completion; touring an under-construction lot helps you understand whether the design-center process is something you'd find energizing or exhausting. Most buyers know within an hour which way they're leaning.

One trap to avoid

Don't assume the home shown in the model is the home you'd be buying. The Parterre model homes are dressed to perfection, with structural options that are not in the base plan, design center upgrades that run well above standard allowances, and staging furniture chosen to make every room feel slightly larger than it is. This is normal industry practice. It is also a real source of surprise for buyers who select a base-version build expecting the model experience and find their finished home looks meaningfully different.

Before signing, ask the on-site agent for the actual base specification of the floor plan you're considering — the home as it would arrive without any structural or finish upgrades — and compare it to the model. The gap is informative. A buyer's agent will routinely walk you through this gap before contract; the on-site agent will not, because the gap is one of their key conversion tools at the design center.

If you'd like the current quick move-in inventory list with active concessions noted, or you'd like to walk through the floor plans available for build-to-order in Garden North, we send both directly.