Our rental company kicked us out a month earlier than expected. Our builder had held firm that we would be done late Sept, even when we told them we were going to be kicked of our rental out Aug 31. We then offered them a bonus (basically a months rent) if they were able to get us in Aug 31. The progress has been blazingly fast since, and they expect to get us in on time. Not exactly sure where you are in your timeline, but it's similar to where we were.

www.joelpro.com/house

Talk to the landlord about it and let them know that you might need to go month-to-month for a couple of months if the builders have problems. Most landlords will work with tenants who give them plenty of warning.

... mid-November is a crappy time to be trying to rent out something because almost no one wants to move during "the holidays".

I'd take pressure of *yourselves* by extending the lease. The 'big work' goes pretty fast, but the finishing has a hundred more elements that all have to come together. Sometimes they don't. We had to move out to a different rental for ten days after moving in. The floor man messed up the wood flooring, and it had to be re-sanded, stained, poly-ed. Better to be able to sit tight away from the work until the last of the punch list is completed. (Builders hate doing those last things.)

Thank you all for the advice!!

It is certainly possible to finish in that time limit but it will require commitment and motivation and that is difficult to predict. The incentive approach might work.