Selling Property/Properties/Residential

The history of Residential Real Estate dates back to prehistory when one caveman said to another "So, I hear you're looking for a cave with good ventilation and easy access to the Mastodon Hunts!" Unfortunately, cave sales have been slow this quarter, so we'll skip ahead to more contemporary homes.

Architecture

When you're on the outside of a house, your client will no doubt ask you "What's this?" or "What's that?" Here's where you'll hopefully find the answers to those questions.

Types of homes

• Colonial: Also known as a "neo-colonial", a colonial home is an asymmetrical house, usually with the garage being the asymmetrical part.
• Cape: A home where the second floor doubles as an attic/loft. The most common sub-style of Cape is the Cape Cod.
• Garrison: A home with one floor slightly larger than the other, usually with a small overhang.
• Greek Revival: Also an architectural period during the first half of the 19th Century, Greek Revivals often have columns, parallel and symmetrical floor plans, obtuse-angled gable roofs, and a kind of farmhouse-turned-mansion kind of feel. They were indicative of the period in American architecture when the country was trying to establish its own identity unique from that of England and looked to the Democratic ideals of Ancient Greece, copying their love for the Golden Mean common in Ancient Greek architecture.
• Georgian: The first style widespread in America before the Revolution, the Georgian style is fairly simple and symmetrical, often with double chimneys, and usually having a gable roof.
• Federal: Think Georgian, with a bit more pizazz -- arches, balconies, hip and mansard roofs are more common than with Georgians, but the symmetry is still there.

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  Neo colonial home architecture. Note the asymmetrical garage.
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  Cape Cod style home architecture. Note the windows in the roof.
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  Garrison architecture home. Note that the second floor is slightly larger then the first.
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  Greek revival architecture house. Note the large columns.
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  Georgian architecture house. The two chimneys can be seen on the right and left side of the roof.
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  Federal style house.
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  Victorian home, with elaborate trimming.
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  Single story ranch style home.
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  American foursquare home.
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  American craftsman
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  Antebellum home.
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  Storybook home.
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  A "McMansion" is known for combining a number of architectural styles in a sloppy way.

Types of roofs

• Gable: Your standard, triangular looking roof. Sometimes, a gable may come with dormers, a small jutting portion of a floor that looks like an extension. A very steep gable is also known as an "A Frame".
• Gambrel: Half of a Decagon, it looks kind of like half a stop sign.
• Saltbox: Not having anything actually to do with salt or boxes, it's basically a gable with a short side and a long(usually at least twice as long)side.
• Mansard: Think of the roofs you see at Pizza Hut, they're basically just the "non-brim of the hat" portion of those roofs.

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  Gable roof.
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  Hipped roof.
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  Gambrel roof.
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  Saltbox roof.
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  Mansard Roof.
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  Skillion roof.
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  Flat roof.

External links

• Architecture at About.com
• Architectural Styles at Realtor.com