Accrued Expenses

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2013

Accrued expenses at July 31, 2013 and October 31, 2012 consisted of the following (amounts in thousands):



	July 31, 2013		October 31, 2012
Land, land development and construction	$	151,932	$	126,866
Compensation and employee benefits	101,661		111,243
Insurance and litigation	97,585		101,908
Warranty	42,067		41,706
Interest	43,891		28,204
Other	81,311		66,423
	$	518,447	$	476,350

The Company accrues for expected warranty costs at the time each home is closed and title and possession are transferred to the home buyer. Warranty costs are accrued based upon historical experience. The table below provides, for the periods indicated, a reconciliation of the changes in the Company’s warranty accrual (amounts in thousands):



	Nine months ended July 31,						Three months ended July 31,
	2013			2012			2013			2012
Balance, beginning of period	$	41,706		$	42,474		$	41,109		$	42,997
Additions – homes closed during the period	9,053			6,994			3,831			3,050
Addition – liabilities acquired				731
(Decrease) increase in accruals for homes closed in prior periods	(342		)	1,236			136			(529		)
Charges incurred	(8,350		)	(9,175		)	(3,009		)	(3,258		)
Balance, end of period	$	42,067		$	42,260		$	42,067		$	42,260