[784caroline]

DIcky
WE were (and still are) in your situation having closed by mail in september 2006, met the builder and first inspection october 2006...all with the intention of moving permanently in june 2007. However we cannot sell the house in VA and have been going down every 10 weeks of so to check on the place.
When we first went down in October we picked up the gate passes and got our IDs and made arrangemetns with the closing office to have the builder meet us on our first (working) day after we arrived. We also rented a van so we were able to bring some essentials down like a bed, table, and kitchen ware....yuou must stay in your new house the first day/night of arrival!! The builder will meet you and if you are staying a week to 10 days you can start getting some of the warranty work done. If you cant do it when you are down the first time schedule it for when you know you will be down in a month or so. I would not wait....for you have the initial inspection and can get work done immediatley and SOME work like tile cracks or granite/corian problems MUST be identified during this first inspection. While doing this, your other job (besides visitng the town squares) is to meet neighbors, arrange grass cutting, and start becomming familair with your house....how does the sprinkler system work etc. Some also get terminte and grass/weed treatment contract in place, while other wait until they are at TV more permanently. When you are not at the house you willl turn off all water, lower your heat, and gas settings and lock things up. There really is not much to check on in the house BUT I will give you 2 cases...1)when the tornado of Feb 2nd hit, I immediately called my neighbor to see if the house was still standing, and 2) I had a case where my neighbor called me one day and asked when my sprinkler system came on because he said their was a major water leak in my yard.......sprinkler water is not shut off at the main water line. Make a long story short, he called Village Watch and they identified a leak in the MAIN sprinkler line that runs from our street through my property to the next street. Fortunatley it was not on my meter bill but this is something that can happen where a good neighbor will help you out. Village Watch may not have found this problem for a week or 2 especially if the neighbors behind you are snow birds and not home!
The other key thing to rememebr is that even though you may not start living in the house for 1, 2 or even 3 months after settlement, your warranty period start at settlement date.
I rambled enough but Im certain you will work your way through the process and meet some great friends along the way...we have! There is nothing like having great neighbors!!