One
of the most confusing aspects of house hunting is understanding the
abbreviations and definitions of house styles. Here’s a guide to
demystifying and cracking the codes of B/L, S/L, CC, Col, Ranch and Exp
CC.
Colonial:
By far the most popular style of them all, a colonial style layout
separates the main sleeping quarters from the living area by a full
flight of stairs. The main floor contains the living room, dining room
and kitchen area. The second floor contains the main bedrooms (usually
three or more). Colonials are the most traditional and sought after
layout. In the northeast, most colonials have a full basement and some
sort of attic.
Ranch:
This home has all the living space on one floor upon entry through the
front door. Typically one side of the home will contain the bedrooms and
the other side will contain the living area. Many ranches have full
basements. If a seller chooses to add a level (upstairs) to the house
while maintaining the downstairs as is, it would be called an expanded
ranch.
Raised ranch:
This is a newer version of a ranch. Typically, the front entry is
ground level where the garage, laundry and family room are located. The
main living area and bedrooms are on the second floor; going up a full
staircase. There is no basement and the attic area is typically crawl
space.
Bilevel:
These homes became popular in the sixties because they maximized living
space while being relatively inexpensive to construct. The front door
entry opens to a foyer and coat closet, and that is all. From the foyer,
one can either walk up a half flight of stairs to the living area and
bedrooms. Otherwise, taking a half flight of stairs down brings one to a
family room, the garage, laundry, usually an additional bedroom and a
walk out entrance to the back yard. A bilevel has no basement and
typically crawl space as an attic.
The
main difference between a raised ranch and a bilevel is the entry way
and the stairway. Otherwise, the living arrangements are similar.
Split Level:
Splits and bilevels are often confused but are entirely different. A
split has three or more levels separated by a half flight of stairs. The
front door often leads to the living room, dining room and kitchen as a
first floor. Half a flight up brings one to the bedrooms. Half a flight
down brings one to a family room. Half a flight down from the family
room is often a basement. Each level is about half the size of the width
of the house.
Cape Cod:
These homes became very popular during and after World War II because
they were relatively easy to construct and didn’t take up much land
space. In NJ, You will find cape cods are often on smaller lots in an
area of similar homes.
The
entry door of a cape often leads into a small foyer and the stairs to
the second floor. The living room, dining room (if any) kitchen and one
or two bedrooms are located downstairs with a full bath. Upstairs
typically contains two bedrooms (often separated by a bathroom) with
dormer windows in the bedrooms. In essence, the upstairs is the attic of
the house. A home owner may expand the upstairs to make larger dormers
for more space (and minimize the roof line impact on ceiling space).
These expanded homes are called expanded cape cods.
Finding
the style home that works best for you within your price range is a
personal choice. Your real estate agent can help you discover your
priorities as part of your house hunting.
Which style of home do you find works best for you and your family?
Scroll below for pictures of home styles, in order: colonial, cape cod, raised ranch, bilevel, split level.
Annmarie Cristiani
NJ licensed real estate sales person
REMAX Traditions Real Estate (#1 in Oakland, NJ)
NJ licensed real estate sales person
REMAX Traditions Real Estate (#1 in Oakland, NJ)
I'm planning a move to NJ and have been doing a lot of research on NJ real estate in the past few weeks. I came across your blog and found this post to be very helpful. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking the time to let me know you found this information helpful to you. You made my day! I wish you the best in your home search. If you need any assistance, please feel free to call me. 201-815-7861. You may not be moving to 'my neck of the woods' but I may have helpful resources for you nonetheless. Thanks, Jess.
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