Before you sign anything at The Arbors, budget for a second check. Beyond the price of the land itself, buyers there owe roughly $45,800 to $47,000 at closing in fees, deposits, and prepaid dues, and that's before a single tree comes down for a foundation. Most of it never shows up in the number a buyer repeats to friends.
That gap between the price you quote and the price you pay is the real story at The Arbors, the 380-acre gated community that Crews Investment Properties has been building into the wooded hills near the village since late 2025. It is also the clearest lesson available right now for anyone comparing a developer-controlled homesite against open acreage in Leiper's Fork: the sticker price was never the whole transaction, and the fine print has been moving.
The price already moved once
When Charles Crews announced The Arbors in November 2025, homesites started at $925,000. The plan called for 22 multi-acre parcels across the 380-acre tract, with home construction expected to begin by January 2026. Buyers who moved fast got in near the floor.
They don't anymore. As of the developer's most recently published terms this spring, homesites start at $1.1 million, a jump of roughly 19 percent from the launch price in about six months. Coverage from March 2026 put the top end of homesites near $3 million. The plat grew too. By the time 40 percent of homesites had sold in March 2026, the project had been replatted from 22 sites to 30, still inside the same 380-acre footprint. More lots, higher floor, faster absorption. That combination tells you demand outran the original plan almost immediately.
What actually shows up at the closing table
The homesite price is the number in the listing. Here's what gets added at closing, on top of it:
| Line item | Amount | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Contribution Fee | $10,000 | No |
| Architectural Review Fee | $4,000 | No |
| Transfer fees | Approximately $800 | No |
| One year of HOA dues, paid in advance | $6,000 to $7,200 | No |
| Construction Escrow deposit | $25,000 | Yes, released at completion |
Add it up and a buyer closing on the current $1.1 million floor writes checks totaling somewhere between $45,800 and $47,000 beyond the purchase price before construction ever starts. Roughly $25,000 of that comes back once the house is built. The rest doesn't.
None of this is hidden. It's published on the development's own FAQ page. But it's also not the number that gets repeated when people talk about "a million-dollar homesite," and it's precisely the kind of detail that separates a buyer who's done the math from one who hasn't.
You're not just buying dirt, you're buying a deadline
Raw acreage in Williamson County has traditionally meant flexibility. Buy the land, sit on it, build when you're ready, sell it as-is if plans change. The Arbors removes that option by design.
Buyers must begin construction within 24 months of purchase and finish within 24 months of breaking ground. Run the clock all the way out and you're looking at four years from signing to a finished house. There is no version of buying a homesite here as pure land banking. The purchase converts, on a fixed schedule, into a construction obligation.
The architectural standards attached to that obligation aren't minor either. Homes must be at least 4,000 square feet, garages need at least two bays, pools have to be in-ground, and every builder and architect selection runs through the development's Design Review Committee before it moves forward. The intent, according to the development's own language, is for houses to blend into the wooded landscape rather than announce themselves against it. That's a legitimate design philosophy, and it also sets a spending floor well above what a buyer might assume from the land price alone.
Compare that to buying an already-built acreage estate elsewhere in Leiper's Fork, where closing can happen in weeks and the buyer moves in on their own timeline, with no committee approval standing between purchase and occupancy. Neither path is wrong. They're different products wearing the same "Leiper's Fork acreage" label, and the difference matters most to buyers who assumed land purchases meant fewer strings than a finished home, not more.
The horse-country marketing doesn't apply to every lot
Equestrian buyers researching The Arbors should slow down on one detail. The community's marketing leans into wooded hills, multi-acre privacy, and a rural setting consistent with the horse culture Leiper's Fork is known for. But horses are only permitted on ten of the thirty planned homesites. If riding or boarding is part of the plan, that narrows the available inventory by two-thirds before price or acreage even enters the conversation. It's the kind of detail that a general "5 to 29 acre homesites" pitch won't surface, and it's exactly the kind of question worth asking before falling for a specific lot.
Short-term rental buyers should note something similar. The Arbors permits long-term leasing but prohibits any rental under one year. For a buyer weighing a Leiper's Fork property partly as a rental asset, that rules out the short-stay model entirely here, regardless of what similar-looking developments elsewhere in Middle Tennessee allow.
Why the pace still matters
None of this has slowed demand. Forty percent of homesites moved within roughly three months of the initial announcement, and the first homes were already under construction by the time that milestone was reported in March 2026. Dan McEwen, whose brokerage handles the exclusive listing, has described the response as evidence that Leiper's Fork buyers recognize a scale of wooded, private acreage that doesn't come up often. The land itself, more than five miles of built trails, 4.5 miles of streams, and eleven bridges threaded through mature hardwood, is doing real work here. It's just not free, and the fee stack and construction clock are the price of getting it pre-assembled instead of pieced together yourself.
For a buyer who wants amenities built in and doesn't mind a deadline, that trade makes sense. For a buyer who wants land now and a house on their own schedule, an independently listed parcel elsewhere in the Leiper's Creek corridor may fit better, fees and committee reviews aside.
Frequently asked questions
Does the $1.1 million starting price include any of the closing fees? No. The Capital Contribution Fee, Architectural Review Fee, transfer fees, prepaid HOA dues, and Construction Escrow are all separate from the homesite purchase price and due at or shortly after closing.
What happens if a buyer doesn't start construction within 24 months? The published terms require construction to begin within 24 months of purchase, though the development's marketing materials don't specify a penalty structure for missing that window. Buyers should confirm current enforcement terms directly with the seller before purchase.
Can a homeowner rent out their house at The Arbors? Long-term rentals are permitted. Rentals of less than one year are not.
Are all homesites suitable for horses? No. Only ten of the thirty planned homesites carry horse eligibility under the current covenants.
Working through the math before you write an offer
The Arbors is a real option for buyers who want curated Leiper's Fork acreage without assembling the trails, gates, and design standards themselves. It's a different option for buyers who want land on their own terms and their own timeline. Knowing which one fits before you're at the closing table, fee schedule in hand, is the difference between a homesite that feels like a find and one that feels like a countdown.
If you're comparing a build-ready parcel like this against finished estates or independently listed acreage nearby, Leiper's Fork Living can walk through the real cost of each path side by side. Explore Leiper's Fork listings and request a private tour to see what's actually available right now, fees and all.
