Anyone live in a planned development where the house look alike?

[MagicalMom]

We are moving, someday , to a planned community. The house we picked seems to be the most popular model. I'm really hoping that the homes that will be on either side of us will be different models. I know the color will have to be different than ours because no homes directly next to each other can have the same colors.

I'm wondering what it will be like when we move. I'd like our house to stand out a bit. Nothing wild! I just want it to be a little different than the other 400 homes. A landscaping pkg is included & I plan on adding some plants myself.

I'm also wondering what it will be like to stop off at your neighbor's house & see that it's identical to yours.Then the nosey part of me will kick in! I'll start wondering things like "What color cabinets did they pick? what color did they paint the bathroom!" Just seems that it might be a little weird. But, most likely, I'm just worrying about nothing again, as usual.

 

[Christine]

My neighborhood is like that. We had about only 5 models to choose from. My model was the cheapest, and most popular, and then there are two other models thrown in here and there.

Believe it or not, it's not a big deal. Each house looks a bit different and, as the years go by, people add their own touches and the trees grow and it all looks different. Plus our builder placed the houses differently on the lots so some houses are a few feet closer to the street and others are a few more feet back.

It'll be okay.

 

[pearlieq]

There's usually a monotony policy in the neighborhoods where the same models (or similar looking models) can't be placed next to each other. It is kind of fun to go through your new friends' houses and see all the different varieties of the things we picked.

Luckily, only 3 or 4 other people chose our model in the neighborhood, so we're a little different, but once everyone begins decorating and adding landscaping it doesn't look so repetitive.

 

[MScott1851]

Yep. There were 10 plans to choose from, but it seems like we all picked the same four plans. Ha ha ha.

I'm also peeved because there was supposed to be a non-monotony thing here too, but I live on a corner. Across the street to my left is an identical house, and across the street on the side of my house are TWO identical houses side-by-side.

We side-loaded our garage so our house is DEFINITELY different. Thank god.

 

[Southern4sure]

I live in a community like this. It is still a new community going on 3 years old. We have 5 different builders though ranging from $180's to over a million. The community is set up to eventually house 750 families. But I love it here. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Our model was not picked the most, but I do get curios as to how others decorate. Even though some of the houses look the same...they are still different with each owners taste.

This is my place if your interested.
http://www.wildernesslakepreserve.com/

Southern4sure

ETA: It might be 1000 homes...its a big community!

 

[Bob Slydell]

Our development had something like 10 different models to choose from, but our block only has three or four on it (the larger homes). But with a dozen or so elevations to choose from per model and various color schemes, none of the houses look alike.

 

[Gymbomom]

we also live in a neighborhood of "track" homes, but our builder had about 30 different ones to choose from, so it is okay. We were one of the first ones on our street and the people down the street had the same model and chose the same brick, so I had our builder change the brick. Then someone builds the exact model next to us, Grrrrrr. I was so irritated. LOL

 

[Beth76]

My parents house is the most popular on their street. The house next door is the same plan, but a totally different elevation. The house directly across the street was a mirror image. Now, the neighbors repainted and the colors are different. I've been inside many houses of the same model and all look different on the inside.

Now, a few streets away from me is a new development of attached homes. They are all EXACTLY alike right down to the landscaping and color. That looks dumb. But, as long as different elevations and different colors can be chosen it should look fine.

 

[Ted and Holly]

We are building in a community like this. There is a policy that there can not be two houses next to each other with the same floorplan, exterior color or roof color.

Eventually, there will be 53 homes there, but we bought one of the first 10. When we got there to pick out our colors and sign the contract, the lots on either side of ours were sold. We were very scared that they would have picked the paint or roof we wanted. Luckily, we found out that the people who bought the lots next to ours did not pick their colors yet. So, we were able to get what we wanted.

As far as individuality. These types of communities usually have Home Owners Associations. As long as anything you do complies with the covenants and you go through whatever approval process they have, you are all set.

Ted

 

[cepmom]

our neighborhood is like that too only it was built in the 40's and 50's. Mostly capes and ranches, but over time people have added on and transformed some of them into 2 story colonials. I have to admit everytime one like mine goes on the market, I am nosy enough to look online to see what's different inside. It's gives me some good ideas about how to update our own house. I'm not really good with envisioning how to change things. If I can see what other's did with the same floor plan it's easier for me to see it in our home

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Our community is like that and we only had like 4 models to choose from. We chose one of the least expensive and the most popular, but it's easy to tell who lives where because of the plants in the yard, the various signs (we are NOT supposed to have up,btw),etc.

Right now it's easy to tell my house from the rest because we can't afford a lawn service, so our yard is one of the few yards around with dandelions (should I say weeds? I think they're flowers but everybody else tells me they are WEEDS!)in the yard.

TOV

 

[kerrynic78]

We are building in a new community in SE Orlando. We had our design appt. the other day and got to pick elevation, color, etc etc. The builder we went with has a bunch of different models so the neighborhood does not look too similar. The good thing is that you can not have the same house, elevation or color next to one another.

 

[tar heel]

Our neighborhood had fairly strict rules about how close houses with the same exterior could be to each other and about brick colors, so it's really not too bad. There are a couple models that were really popular and you notice them, but most look pretty different. Also, the neighborhood started out with about dozen plans and 20 or 30 more were added by the time it was built out. There's only one other house like ours, and it looks quite different from ours. I also have found the interiors to be very different b/c our builder allowed a lot of customizing -- for a price, of course.

It's "tract" house, not "track" house.

 

[swilphil]

If you are building, try to make some changes that will make your house different. They may sound expensive now, but they will probably only add on a few dollars onto your mortgage payment. We live in a new development with 6 models to choose from, but our house was a spec house and the builder made some changes to it that make it different from the others of the same model. I do wish I had even done more before the building was complete. Try to look at as many houses as you can of that model or similar models to get ideas. Good luck!

 

[MagicalMom]

Well, we upgraded from a 1 car garage to a 2 car. We have also chosen the more expensive elevation of our house, hopefully not as many people have chosen that one. I'm searching for the perfect mailbox too, that may help make a difference.

 

[stinkerbelle]

our neighborhood is like that too only it was built in the 40's and 50's.

yep - same as my parents neighborhood built in the 60's...all raised ranches practically.

there are 6 raised ranches out of 10 homes on the street. (one being my parents) my parents have been there the longest now (since 1980)

I used to baby sit in a house on the street that was a mirror to my parents house...it was kinda weird at first. heheheh

none of the houses look similar anymore

so give it 25 years - all the homes will look different! heheh

 

[MScott1851]

I agree that you do what you can to change your house a little.

Our house was the second biggest in the development, and I noticed that a lot of our neighbors compromised on the interior just so they could buy a more expensive, bigger house, i.e. no upgrades. I would rather have a smaller house with a nicer interior, personally.

We are the only side-load garage in the neighborhood, we put lots of outdoor lighting in, we have hardwood throughout the entire downstairs except for the kitchen and bathrooms that are tiled, and my bedroom is carpeted. We also chose to have spindle railing put in on all the upstairs balconies and staircases instead of half walls. I upgraded my cabinets instead of having the cheaper looking white or light oak ones, and nice countertops and stainless steel appliances. We made all the fixtures in the house brownstone, and all the doorknobs and hinges brushed nickle. We even had extra phone and cable jacks put in every room. I went in some of the other houses, and they look like cheap apartments inside, with builder grade carpet from wall to wall, even in the bathrooms, halfwalls everywhere, which close the rooms in, brass fixtures, etc. The yards get me, too. My neighbors yard looks terrible.

I certainly hope that these things make my home stand out when we go to sell. There are at least 10 in the neighborhood for sale right now, and people aren't having a lot of luck. I think they are regretting cutting corners now.

 

[FINFAN]

I think all of Il is like that. No offense, and if any illnoisians have a unique home...KEEP IT!

 

[Southern4sure]

I agree that you do what you can to change your house a little.

Our house was the second biggest in the development, and I noticed that a lot of our neighbors compromised on the interior just so they could buy a more expensive, bigger house, i.e. no upgrades. I would rather have a smaller house with a nicer interior, personally.

We are the only side-load garage in the neighborhood, we put lots of outdoor lighting in, we have hardwood throughout the entire downstairs except for the kitchen and bathrooms that are tiled, and my bedroom is carpeted. We also chose to have spindle railing put in on all the upstairs balconies and staircases instead of half walls. I upgraded my cabinets instead of having the cheaper looking white or light oak ones, and nice countertops and stainless steel appliances. We made all the fixtures in the house brownstone, and all the doorknobs and hinges brushed nickle. We even had extra phone and cable jacks put in every room. I went in some of the other houses, and they look like cheap apartments inside, with builder grade carpet from wall to wall, even in the bathrooms, halfwalls everywhere, which close the rooms in, brass fixtures, etc. The yards get me, too. My neighbors yard looks terrible.

I certainly hope that these things make my home stand out when we go to sell. There are at least 10 in the neighborhood for sale right now, and people aren't having a lot of luck. I think they are regretting cutting corners now.

Sounds like my home except for the garage. Our home has $65,000 in upgrades and we we got a great bargain. House was less than a year old and full of the upgrades I would have chosen if we built it. The inside still have white walls. Im trying to figure out how to paint the bottom level. the foyer has rounded walls and are 20 ft. There is no breaking point. I'd rather not have 1 color the entire bottom floor but I need ideas.

Here is a pic looking from the living room into the foyer. The the left and right of the pic is rounded corners and the another rounded corner straight back.

Southern4sure

 

[MagicalMom]

Southern4sure, I love the rounded walls. That's lovely.