Firstly, what exactly is a duplex? It’s two separate homes that just happen to share the same roof and a single wall. A.K.A. Semi-detached, semi-attached, side-by-side home. Rohit Communities also calls it Elements, but for today’s purpose, let’s just call it a duplex. It’s getting the affordability and camaraderie with your neighbours you might find with a condo, but with the privacy and space you would expect from a single family home. You can think of it as their happy love child!
Duplexes are made for, and appeal to a wide range of people and nowadays it seems like the options for duplex living goes on and on for days. Just because it’s attached to another home, it doesn’t mean that style has to compromised. There are just as many different floor plans for duplex as there are for single family. You can choose how many bedrooms you want, the options and upgrades, you can have a yard and a single or double garage, attached or detached, and basements for storage space or extra bedrooms when those lovely children grow up to be teenagers! You can even choose communities with or without condominium fees! With that many choices how can you possible go wrong?
The biggest stigma that people have against duplex is the misconception that they won’t have any privacy, being attached to their neighbor and all. The truth is, unless you’re a recluse and living in an acreage in the middle of nowhere, you’re going to have neighbours regardless. Sometimes you get lucky and they’re cool and then you become BFF’s and borrow their sugar and invite each other over for barbeques. Even if they aren’t, the duplexes nowadays, or more specifically the joint party walls, are built in a way so that minimal disruption from you neighbours occurs. It’s not going to be like in the movies where you can hear your neighbours do everything if you know what I mean… like playing Scrabble very loudly obviously.
Another great thing about duplexes is the price. For roughly the same size as a starter single family home you’re paying much less, and getting way more bang for your buck. One thing that people tend to overestimate is the amount of space that they need, depending on where in the life cycle they are. Obviously if you have 8 kids you might need a mini mansion with a panic room to escape for a bit, but for the most part a duplex is the perfect size for many people. Even looking at all the Rohit duplexes, they are usually two or three bedrooms, more if you choose to develop your basement, you get a flex area to make into anything you want, a second floor laundry and open concept main floor. Really, what more do you want? And for cheaper no less!
The moral of the story? Don’t dis-count the duplex! (I love alliterations =)!) Owning a duplex is owning your own home. Maybe it’s just the right combination of two different worlds that will be perfect for you.
