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In our last post, we discussed condominiums, as a form of ownership, not a building style, which left unanswered the question of what are the common forms of residences and what do they look like. Chesapeake Bay homes come in several distinct types that are categorized as follows:

Let’s start with the most popular, the single family home, a detached dwelling on any size lot or acreage. 

The second category is multiple or connected dwellings, generally connected on one or both sides resulting in a duplex, triplex or quadruplex building.

Villa – A one-story unit, it may have a partial story or loft up.
Townhouse – Two to three full stories, the ground level usually contains a garage with an additional room.
Patio Home – A hybrid combination of connected villa style houses, with a deeded obligation to pay for outside maintenance, that is provided by the developer or a community organization.

The remaining category covers buildings containing “apartment”* style living units on one or more levels.

Garden Style –  A two or three story rectangular building with individual living spaces on one level.  Garden style units generally include a substantial amount of open landscaped ground.
Mid Rise** – A four to eight story building with individual dwelling units on one level. New midrise buildings often   reserve the top stories for multi level penthouses.

High Rise** – Any building between 8 and 40 stories is considered a high rise.  Buildings taller than 40 levels are classified as Skyscrapers. 

*The word apartment is another confusing name like condominium. The original apartments, dating back to the 16th century were called flats, a separate unit of a suite of rooms in a communal residential building. Later on in the middle 1800’s, this living style became popular in high-density areas of Europe and Great Britain. From the very beginning, the flat was owned along with shared rights of the common areas. Later on, renting and leasing became popular and nowadays, we associate apartments with rental use, rather than ownership.  In summary, the word apartment relates to common or shared living in a singular building.

**These are generally accepted definitions used to describe Chesapeake Bay properties; however, architects, urban planners and city building authorities all have their own formulas or guidelines to categorize the structures. For instance, mid rise building sizes may be subject to ratios of the street width to the building height. The difference between a high rise and a skyscraper is determined by the influence of winds and evacuation time during a fire.

While searching for Chesapeake Bay real estate for our customers, we frequently hear the words “but we don’t want a condo.” Condo, is probably the most misused word in the real estate dictionary and most home buyers do not understand its true meaning, probably because amost of us found it a convenient way to catagorize an apartment style home that is owned instead of leased.

A condominium, or “condo,” is strictly a form ownership. Years ago, ski and other vacation resort developers constructed multiple dwelling units for purchase, and they devised the condominium concept to establish a means of managing and operating them independently, after completion. From the very beginning, this concept was misunderstood and the word condo came to mean any multiple unit residence, further reinforced later on, when condominiums were constructed as apartment style buildings in urban areas.

In summary, a condominium may be a detached house, townhouse or villa, a high rise or low rise building, an office suite, a retail store, commercial space or even a boat dock (dockominium). The next time you want to find a Chesapeake Bay property, be sure and ask your real estate agent to inform you of any ownership regulations if the property is a condominium.

Waterfront lot sales are complex, especially considering the ever-changing government rules and regulations concerning their use. In general, waterfront properties are site specific; each one is unique based on many variables that can have a significant influence on the market value:

1- Location
2- Water depth MLW (mean 19 year, low water)
3- Distance to big water (the bay or a large river)
4- Water traveling conditions (sand bars, shoals, severe depth changes. etc)
5- Elevation above the water
6- Location of 100 foot (now 200 feet) “Buffer Zone” (100 year mean high tide)
7- Nature and scope of the water view, protected vegetation
8- Ability to “perc,” type of septic system and location of septic field
9- Unique site features
10- Permitted building envelope
11- Number of buildings allowed
12- Number of bedrooms permitted
14- Size and configuration of dock and piers
15- Other zoning and building rules
 
There is a variety of special considerations when purchasing waterfront property in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland. For example, all land located within 1,000 feet of tidal waters is considered part of the Chesapeake Bay "Critical Area" and any portion of property located within 100 feet of the Mean High Water Line of tidal wetlands and tributary streams is subject to "Buffer Zone" protection.

Also, be careful of using just acreage as a value guide. A 5-acre lot may have the same value as a 10-acre lot, if only one building can be constructed.  Often a buyer would prefer to have a smaller site and be willing to pay more than if it were much larger. There is an old saying that "a lot is a lot is a lot."

If anyone has any questions about this and are thinking of purchasing waterfront property, let us know and we can help you with this complex process.

410-829-6061 or email: thehalls@chesapeakelifestyles.com

It all starts with water, not much, just a trickle from a spring or surface water from rain. The trickle joins many more to form a rivulet then a stream or brook, later a creek, perhaps a river, all forms of tributaries which feed into a major body of water – in this case the Chesapeake Bay which is fed by more than 150 rivers and creeks as well as thousands of minor tributaries. Our bay is an estuary where fresh and tidal salt water mix. It is surrounded by a vast watershed of 64,000 square miles involving five states and the District of Columbia. The 190 mile long Chesapeake supports extraordinary ecosystems that support 3600 species of plants and animals and living in diverse habitats. With 12,000 miles of shore line, it’s no wonder, that the bay attracts more than a million wildfowl a year and hosts a major fish and shellfish industry, notably the blue crabs, oysters and striped bass. The Chesapeake region provided a unique haven for early habitants, explorers, settlers from Great Britain and the Continent and presently it is a magnet for their many descendants along with thousands of others who are attracted to our “faire shores.” It is no wonder that this region attracts so many visitors and seasonal home owners. Tidewater residents, both human and wildlife, have long realized that the Eastern Shore of Maryland is one of the finest places in America to call home.