Accrued Expenses (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2016

Payables and Accruals [Abstract]

Accrued expenses

Accrued expenses at October 31, 2016 and 2015, consisted of the following (amounts in thousands):

	2016		2015
Land, land development and construction	$	153,264	$	118,634
Compensation and employee benefits	138,282		125,045
Escrow liability (1)	137,396		24,023
Self-insurance	126,431		113,727
Warranty (2)	370,992		93,083
Deferred income (1)	43,488		43,059
Interest	34,903		26,926
Commitments to unconsolidated entities	5,637		5,534
Other (1)	61,907		58,035
	$	1,072,300	$	608,066

Changes in the warranty accrual

We accrue 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 a reconciliation of the changes in our warranty accrual during fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014 as follows (amounts in thousands):

	2016			2015			2014
Balance, beginning of year	$	93,083		$	86,282		$	43,819
Additions - homes closed during the year	28,927			20,934			18,588
Addition - liabilities acquired							11,044
Increase in accruals for homes closed in prior years *	26,689			2,661			2,913
Reclassification from self-insurance accruals							7,554
Increase to water intrusion reserves (see above) **	267,258			14,685			24,950
Charges incurred	(44,965		)	(31,479		)	(22,586		)
Balance, end of year	$	370,992		$	93,083		$	86,282

* The fiscal 2016 amount includes (i) the current year charge of $9.3 million, which is included in “Cost of sales” in our 2016 Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income and (ii) $17.3 million of non-water intrusion warranty charges expected to be recovered from our insurance carriers and suppliers, which we recorded as a receivable at October 31, 2016 and is included in “Receivables, prepaid expenses, and other assets” on our 2016 Consolidated Balance Sheet.

** The fiscal 2016 amount includes (i) the current year charge of $125.6 million, which is included in “Cost of sales” in our 2016 Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income and (ii) $141.7 million of water intrusion warranty charges expected to be recovered from our insurance carriers and suppliers, which we recorded as a receivable at October 31, 2016 and is included in “Receivables, prepaid expenses, and other assets” on our 2016 Consolidated Balance Sheet.