Building a house question-identical house

[Deleted]

Would you build a house in the lot next door to the exact same house? They can change the facade slightly, but it's still going to be the same house just diff trim. Would you? Would this turn you off as a buyer later?

[countthestars]

I wouldn't. I prefer neighborhoods that look less uniform and have differing house designs. They are building two nearly identical houses in our neighborhood and it looks very cookie cutter to me.

[sjh722]

No.

[arch01]

No.

[Deleted]

Our house is very similar to our neighbors'. We have different color homes and a slightly different elevation, but overall it is the same. This doesn't bother or concern me because our homes are pretty simple, suburban homes. If we were copying our neighbors' house and it was awkward or didn't fit the neighborhood I would shy away from it. I wouldn't want to be one of two Art Deco homes in a colonial neighborhood.

[genet313]

It would turn me off.  I'm not opposed to some level of consistency in a neighborhood, but basically identical homes with different trim is too much.

[polarbearfans]

I couldn't get into the cookie cutter neighborhoods, which quickly settled the decision on whether to get a new build or not. Our house is about 20 years old, but all the houses look different.

I would say do what you want for yourself. I made some decisions a buyer may not like, but I like it and am the one living in the house currently,

[cheezer]

I'd prefer not to but if there's a limited number of floor plans to choose from I'm choosing what I like the most.

[LoveTrains]

No.

Does this mean you are still working with shady builder?!?!

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2014 15:26:41 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

No.

Does this mean you are still working with shady builder?!?!

We were looking at another one but they have limited lots and there are like 8-9 plans, of which only 2 are in our budget.

[kayakjenn]

Silly story, when I was growing up someone built a house across the street from us that they designed with an architect. A year later a neighbor3 lots away built a house that was the exact mirror image of the first house, including siding and colors. The first neighbor sued the architect for sharing the design but because it was a mirror image they lost. Apparently they wanted the architect to give them all of the professional fees he was paid by the owners of the second house.

Those neighbors didn't speak for years.

[mollybrown]

It depends on how different the facades are. My house and my neighbors are identical from the front, but you wouldn't be able to tell that from the outside. The roof lines face different directions, different numbers of windows, different porches, different details like trim and column shapes, different colors, etc. My neighborhood is pretty cookie cuter overall, but most builders do a good job of mixing it up as much as they can. My builder required that the roof lines alternate, and they don't allow more than one house of any color combination on the same block. I would be fine as long as there was some attempt at to mix it up.

[heyrebekah]

I think it depends on the rest of the neighborhood. I mean, if it's one of those subdivisions where everything is a variation on a few different plans, that would look fine. But if the rest of the neighborhood is older homes of a totally different style and then there are these two super similar new construction homes next to each other, that would be odd.

[Susie]

I'm not sure this is one of those things that I could decide in a vacuum.

I mean, the obvious answer is no, in an ideal world I wouldn't want to. But because of a million other factors, we bought a house in a neighborhood that only has 4 house styles. We have next door neighbors with the mirror image of our house.  Meh.  It was the best overall choice for us.

[msmerymac]

No, but I'm not the kind of person who would choose to build a new-build in a developer's neighborhood, so I don't think this issue will ever come up?

I will say that there are 6 houses on my block, all in a row, that are basically the same, including my house, which makes me sound hypocritical. But they are all almost 100 years old. The siding, trim, and porches, not to mention interior layout and additions have been altered slightly or dramatically in all of them over the decades, which is kind of interesting. No two houses have the same porch railing, or front steps, or door or windows. We have a huge dining room with the kitchen in our addition, while most of our neighbors have the "dining room" split into an open concept dining/kitchen instead.

[msmerymac]

Regarding resale, sometimes it's nice as a buyer to see similar houses, but see how others have updated them. Like if there are 2 homes for sale in a neighborhood, same basic layout, but one is much more updated than the other, or has nicer add-ons like a deck or walk-out basement, then that one's going to get my money. There are 2 big townhouses for sale near me where that is the issue. They're only 5 years old, but one is all carpet. The other has hardwood floors throughout and a built-in library on the first level, so the asking price is understandably higher.

[ECB]

Nov 24, 2014 16:05:30 GMT -5 Susie said:

I'm not sure this is one of those things that I could decide in a vacuum.

I mean, the obvious answer is no, in an ideal world I wouldn't want to. But because of a million other factors, we bought a house in a neighborhood that only has 4 house styles. We have next door neighbors with the mirror image of our house.  Meh.  It was the best overall choice for us.

This.  I woudln't CHOOSE it, but in looking out my window right now, looking at a mirror image of my house too.  And there are definitely a few occurences of the same style house right next to each other throughout our neighborhood.  This sure as heck didn't keep me from buying this house.  

[sparty04]

Our two next door neighbors built the same house as ours (the only difference is the brick and siding color and a slightly different roofline- everything else is exactly the same). It really pissed me off that the builder allowed it and I'm worried about resale value in the future. I wouldn't do it unless they look different enough from the front

[Deleted]

Depends on how different they look from the outside. There is one very popular floor plan in my neighborhood but you'd never know by looking at the homes. They look totally different from the front. Identical from the back though. Neighborhood architectural controls should govern this stuff right?

[starlily]

Our development has three floor plans, with each plan having three elevations. So yeah the houses look similar to a degree, but it's extremely common in the area I live in. It doesn't affect resale value around here.

ETA: I can't think of identical houses next door to each other though. The builder decided what plan & elevation went on each lot, and buyers had to choose from what was available. And they severely limited the most unique elevation which has a balcony in the front (we snagged one - yay!).

[moolarkey]

When our development was built you couldn't build the same house within a set number of lots. I think it was 10*, you couldn't build the same house within 10 lots of each other and the elevations had to be different. Our development is pretty large and even though they aren't right next to each other, when I drive through I can tell which were built off the same base plan as ours even though some are stone, some are brick, some are cedar. We have stone, 3 car garage, big dormer in the room over the garage. Some are side load garages, etc. No house in the development is identical. 

We had friends who were assured by their builder that another house like theirs wouldn't be built next to them in their phase of their development. What he didn't tell them was that their house was the last one in that particular phase. Sure enough, an identical house, even the colors, was built right next to them. They tried to take it to court and lost because that house was in the next phase of the whole development.

*in actuality they are all spread out more than 10 lots just because of what people chose to build.

[imojoebunny]

We live in a new infill house in an old neighborhood. Most houses we looked at were essentially the same layout. The only difference was the number of bedrooms, if there was a loft or not, and if they were the "big version" or the smaller version (range from 3200 or 2800 square feet).

[orangeblossom]

Our neighborhood is full of the same floorplan. I'd say the one we have, is the most popular one. However, there were many different facades, and until you went into the house, wouldn't know it was the same floor plan. I think that's the best way possible to do it, if they're going to look alike.

[Marmee]

I would if that's the best option...like a starter home & that's all we could afford in a decent neighborhood. But generally, no. That'd be a pretty big comprise for me & usually there would be other options because uniqueness & curb appeal are high on my list.

[Marmee]

Nov 24, 2014 16:21:42 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

I don't know. The painted ladies are all the same and I would more into one of those tomorrow. It would depend on the style, neighborhood, etc. I lean toward no, but there are instances in which I could be swayed, for sure.

If only builders were building homes with slight differences in facade like the Painted Ladies have...the gingerbread trim work, porch style & woodwork, windows, and a significant difference in colors (body &/or trim). One can dream

[ddi741]

Sure. I my neighnorhood, there are only about 6 different models. Now each homeowner has customized them to fit their needs but they are similar.

[kaylie]

The three houses to the right of mine are all the same but with slightly different trims. It looks really stupid.

[LoveTrains]

I will add that I live in a row of three houses with the same floor plan. All built between 1938-1941. It's kind of funny.

But the facades are different. My neighbor has s bay window.

[kwynn]

My neighborhood was built in the early 70's. There are about 5-6 different styles of house (not elevations - those are all the same). They are brick with some siding.

So you have "the big one" (it has a 2 car garage, the small one (the one car garage), the square box, the pointy roof, and the overhang.

Above me is a street with larger homes - they have "the big one" and the overhang, plus fancier options. They were Phase 1 of the development. My house was Phase 2, I guess "no variety for poor people" (joking, they just are obviously the less expensive ones where I live because they are smaller and on a hill - no level yards for the poors either).

Weirdly enough, my house is called the "Mediterranean" as I have the original blueprints. The home is a rectangular box, almost looks like a trailer a bit, TBH. NOT Mediterranean at all.

Anyway, in my neighborhood, they didn't mix them at all. They built six point roofs in a row, then an overhang, then 7 small ones in a row on one side. The other side is about 20 straight, no joke, big ones.

I live in #6 of 7 small ones and painted my door a bright color, partly because I pulled in the wrong driveway once!

It doesn't bother me because, over time, with additions, roof replacements, porch replacements, driveways needing repoured, etc, things start to look different.

I tell guests "there are 7 identical houses in a row on the left. I'm #6, bright teal door"

I still bought it. Now, if I had the choice and was building, I MIGHT get something else.

[Deleted]

In a neighborhood of similar looking homes I probably would. My next door (attached) neighbor's house is nearly identical to mine but it is consistent with the neighborhood so it doesn't stand out.