Defining Single Family Homes By Type (So You Can Read Real Estate Ads With Ease!)

22 May 2017
 Categories: Real Estate, Blog

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"Single family home" is a broad description of many of the available single family homes on the market today. In fact, if you see "single family home" in a real estate ad, it really is not telling you much about the house itself. You need clarification, and there are additional keywords and phrases that describe what type of single family home may be for sale.

Detached Single Family Home

In this phrase, "detached" provides a major clue as to the type of house you could expect to see. It means that this house is not attached to any other single family home, twindominium, or building structure. It stands all on its own, on its own property, and provides a home for anyone wanting to buy it.

Attached Single Family Home

Conversely, an "attached" single family home is any home that shares at least one wall with another home next door. A duplex is an example of an attached single family home. If a large two-door or multiple-door garage with a mother-in-law room above the garage is attached, then this also qualifies as an "attached" home.

Single-Story Family Home

To say that a single family home is a "single-story" means that it literally only has one story, or the ground floor. A ranch home is the perfect example of a single-story family home. If you are not looking for elevation and you just want some rooms where you can hang your hat and stretch out, this may be the ideal home for you.

Multi-Story Family Home

More than a story-and-a-half and often more than two stories, a multi-story family home may have three or more levels. It could also have multiple levels in different sections of the house, such as three stories in the main part of the house, two stories off the side addition, and only one story off the back. Many Victorian homes are examples of multi-story single family homes. The year in which the house was built reveals a lot about what kind of house it was versus the type of house it has become.

Convertible Single Family Home

In real estate, the word "convertible" means that you can either convert the single family home into a two-family home or that you can take a two-family home (or multiple apartments) and convert it back into a single family home. Whatever you choose to do with it, the house has potential. It may be worth a look if the ad picture presented makes it appealing.