New Construction Terms to Know Before Buying a Home

 Buying a new construction home is an exciting journey, but if you’ve never done it before, the process can feel a little confusing. There are plenty of terms that get thrown around along the way, but don’t feel overwhelmed; we’re here to make the process easy to understand.

Here are some common terms you may hear throughout your new construction experience.

Online Sales Consultant (OSC): Your first point of contact & an amazing resource throughout your home search. Our OSCs help you find the community that best fits your lifestyle, and will get you scheduled for a private tour with one of our agents.

Chat with Stephanie & Dani here

Community Builder: The community builder and supporting field team are the people working behind the scenes to keep your home on track. They oversee construction, monitor timelines, and make sure your home is built to Chesapeake Homes standards.

Building From the Ground Up: Building your home from the ground up means going through the full Chesapeake Homes process, from selecting your homesite and floorplan to choosing your finishes and options.

Quick Move-In: A quick move-in home is already under construction or complete, with the finishes and selections already chosen for you. It’s a great option for buyers looking for a faster move. While selections are already made, every Chesapeake Homes quick move-in is still thoughtfully designed by our professional designers, not a copy-and-paste package.

Floorplan: The layout & flow of your home. Floor plan options vary from community to community.

Exterior Elevation: An elevation is the exterior design of your home. Depending on the floor plan and community, you may have different elevation options to choose from.

Design Gallery: This is where your vision for your new home starts to come to life. At the Chesapeake Homes Design Gallery, you’ll meet with one of our professional designers to select your finishes in every room of your home.

Explore the Design Gallery here

Design Preview: Chesapeake Homes hosts monthly Design Previews where you follow a guided tour with one of our expert designers. You get an inside look at the design process and a chance to explore your options before your personal appointment. Reach out to your community of interest or our online sales consultants to find out when the next preview is being hosted!

Pre-Construction Meeting: This is your first meeting with the community builder after home selections have been finalized. The builder will review your home details and walk you through what to expect during the building process.

Following this meeting is when your community builder will begin adding updated photos of your home into the Chesapeake Homes app, so you can watch your home come to life.

Plat Map: An official map that shows the boundaries and layout of individual homesites within a community.

Plot Plan: A detailed plan showing where your home will sit on your specific homesite. It can include additional details like property lines, easements, required setbacks, and other important legal descriptions.

Pre-Drywall Meeting: Before drywall is installed, meet with your community builder to review the location of electrical outlets and low-voltage options throughout your home.

Pro Tip: Take plenty of pictures during this meeting! Having photos of what is behind your walls can be helpful down the road when hanging pictures, mounting TVs, or making other changes to your home.

New Homeowner Orientation / Final Walk: Your last walk with the community builder, where they will explain how everything in your home operates, while you identify any items that may need attention before closing.

Closing: The moment you’ve been waiting for! This is the final step in the process, where ownership of your new home is officially transferred to you!

Builder Warranty: A builder warranty provides coverage for certain parts of your new home for a set amount of time. What’s covered can vary by builder, so be sure to review the details of your warranty.

Learn about Chesapeake Homes Warranty here

Whether you’re just beginning to explore new construction or getting ready to close on your new home, we hope this guide makes the process feel a little easier to navigate.

Ready to start exploring? Explore Chesapeake Homes communities in Virginia, Raleigh, Coastal North Carolina, and South Carolina.