The phrase "single-family home" is something you'll often see when browsing through real estate listings in Fairfax County. A single-family home might seem easy to define: It's a home for a single family, right? Eh, not exactly. To be classified as a single-family home in Fairfax County, there are requirements the property must meet. What are those requirements? Let's take a look.
What is a single-family home?
The legal description for a single-family home is “a structure maintained and used as a single dwelling unit." So what does that mean exactly? A single dwelling unit will have these characteristics:
No Common Walls
A single-family home is a stand-alone, detached property. This means the home doesn't share common walls or a roof with any other dwelling.
Land
Single-Family home has no shared property but is built on its own parcel of land. The area around the building is for the private use of the owner.
Entrance And Exit
Single-Family home has its own private and direct access to a street or thoroughfare. This is as opposed to an apartment, which has hallways and a lobby that leads to street access.
Utilities
Only one set of utilities can service a single-family home and may not be shared in any way with another residence. This applies to heating, electricity, water, or any other essential service.
One Owner
A single-family home is built as the residence for one family, person, or household, whose owner has an undivided interest in the property.
Single Kitchen
Single-Family home has one kitchen. Adding a kitchen to an in-law suite or carriage house will alter a home's zoning classification.
Benefits Of Buying A Single-Family Home In Fairfax County
The type of home you buy in Fairfax County depends on your budget and needs. A single-family home will suit you if you are seeking privacy. Since it is built on its own slice of land, you'll have some distance from your neighbors.
You'll also probably enjoy the extra storage space of an attic or garage in a single-family house in Fairfax County.
Single-family homes in Fairfax County also come in many different architectural styles—whether ranch, Colonial, Mid-Century Modern, Cape Cod—as opposed to the more straightforward design of a condo.
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