In Leiper's Fork, the Homesite Price Is Only the First Check

At The Arbors at Leiper's Fork, construction has to start within 24 months of the day you buy your homesite. It then has to finish within 24 months of that start. The house has to be at least 4,000 square feet, with a garage for at least two cars. According to the developer's FAQ, prices this year start at $1.1 million.

Taken together, those rules mean you aren't buying land to hold. You're buying a place in a building schedule that has a minimum house size. Once that's clear, the rest of the numbers make sense.

The clock starts on closing day

The developer's homepage describes The Arbors as a private, gated community. It has 30 homesites at the corner of Pinewood Road and Hargrove Road, close to the Natchez Trace Parkway. Lots run from 5 to 29 acres. Here's how the developer's timing rules play out for a buyer:

1. Closing. You pay for the homesite, plus the closing-day fees covered below. The 24-month window to start construction begins.
2. Design. You choose your own builder and architect, but both go through The Arbors Design Review Committee, and there's a $4,000 architectural review fee.
3. Septic and soils. The county has to sign off on a septic system for your lot before site work can begin. More on that below.
4. Start of construction, by month 24 at the latest. The second 24-month window begins.
5. Completion, no more than 24 months after the start. That's when the $25,000 construction escrow is released.

Your options for carrying the lot in the meantime are also limited. Long-term rentals are allowed at The Arbors, but rentals shorter than one year are not. In practice, owning land here means building on it.

Why the land comes in 5-acre pieces at all

The minimum house size and the deadline are the developer's rules. The large lots come from the county.

Williamson County's older Rural district standards allowed one single-family home per five acres. That's a maximum gross density of 0.20 units per acre, with a 5-acre minimum site. The same table noted that a lot could need to be larger if the soils weren't adequate for septic. The county's zoning translation table maps that old Rural district to two newer ones, Rural Development District 5 and Rural Preservation District 5. Both keep a 5-acre minimum for traditional subdivisions and allow 1-acre lots in conservation subdivisions. In the county's Comprehensive Land Use Plan, adopted in 2007, Leiper's Fork is one of four named Villages, and it has its own special area plan for more detailed policy.

The Arbors uses far less of that allowance than it could. Thirty homesites on about 380 acres works out to roughly 12.7 acres per homesite, or about 0.08 homes per acre. At the rural framework's 0.20 per acre, the same land could hold about 76 homes. That gap is a big part of what the price pays for, since fewer neighbors and more trees on every side were chosen by the developer, not forced by the county. The structure is also on record. At its March 19, 2026 meeting, the Williamson County Regional Planning Commission unanimously approved the Phase 2 preliminary plat, 16 lots on 379 acres off Hargrove Road. The conditions included a stormwater maintenance agreement and an operation and maintenance plan for stormwater improvements.

Buyers have responded quickly. In March 2026, Williamson Source reported that 40% of the homesites had sold just over three months after the project was announced, and that the first homes were already under construction. That's a figure from the spring, not a current count. Ask for today's map of available, reserved and sold lots before you plan around any particular lot.

What clears the table besides the lot

That same month, StyleBlueprint described homesite pricing as roughly $1 million to $3 million. The developer's FAQ now lists a $1.1 million starting price. On top of the land, the FAQ lists these costs:

That comes to about $45,800 to $47,000 beyond the lot price, and $25,000 of it comes back to you only after the house is finished. The escrow is tied to the schedule. If the build runs long, that money stays held longer too.

The dues range depends on where your homesite sits within the community. Compare the specific lots you're considering, not the community as a whole.

The figures in this post come from published developer and county documents and are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Have your attorney, lender and tax advisor review the HOA documents and fee terms for your situation before you commit.

The septic permit sits in front of the bulldozer

This is where the 24-month start window gets tight. Each homesite at The Arbors needs its own septic tank. Public water comes from H.B.&T.S. Utility District, power from Middle Tennessee Electric, and fiber internet from United Communications, and underground utilities are already in place to every homesite.

Septic in unincorporated Williamson County isn't handled through the state's online application. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation sends Williamson County residents to county-specific information, and the county's Department of Sewage Disposal Management handles the review. Under the county's regulations, a parcel's soils have to be assessed by an approved method before a construction permit for a septic system can be issued. The method might be soil mapping, percolation testing or a limited individual-lot assessment, and the Department decides which one applies. TDEC's general guidance is to get the septic permit before any dirt work, and that includes the building pad. If an alternative system is needed, it calls for an extra-high-intensity soils map from a Tennessee-licensed consultant.

The fees are small next to the lot price. The county fee schedule lists soil mapping at $175 per acre and preliminary soil investigation at $60 per hour, and it says fees can change without notice. A separate county fee document puts the alternative system permit at $550. The real cost is time. Soils work, design review and the builder's schedule all have to fit inside the same 24 months, and the house design has to account for where the septic system can go on your particular slope.

What the dues are paying for while you build

The $500 to $600 a month covers upkeep of the common areas, roads, gates, perimeter fencing and trails. The trails are already in use, with more than five miles of professionally built hiking and biking routes. The Poplar Commons area, which includes the open-air Poplar House, a community firepit and a pickleball court, is listed by the developer as "in the works." The developer's homepage shows those spaces in its plans, along with an event lawn.

So for now, the dues pay for the gate, the roads and the trails. If the gathering spaces matter to you, ask for their expected timeline in writing before you close, because your own building deadline is fixed.

Questions that come up on a homesite walk

Can I keep horses?

Only on certain lots. The developer lists homesites 104, 105, 106, 108, 110, 210 and 213 as possibly eligible for horses, and horses aren't allowed on the trails. Up to 15 chickens are allowed in a coop or fenced area, but no roosters.

Do I have to use the developer's builder?

No. You can choose your own builder and architect, as long as the Design Review Committee approves them.

Are there other rules on the house itself?

The FAQ requires pools to be in-ground and basketball goals to be permanently fixed to the ground, along with the 4,000-square-foot minimum and the two-car garage.

If you're weighing a homesite in Leiper's Fork, I'd love to help you build the whole budget before you commit, starting with the 24-month start window, the closing-day fees and the septic review. Schedule a free home consultation with the Suzy Mills Team, and we'll go through the lot, the deadlines and the costs together.