Would you buy a lot in a neighborhood of cookie cutters?

10 years ago

I've heard of two foreclosed lots in a nearby neighborhood. The other lots and houses there were owned and built on by a couple of builders who advertise as custom, but they are still one of 8-10 plans owned by the builder. I guess the custom part is that the buyer gets to choose upgrades.

The only con I can see is that a truly custom home in such a neighborhood wouldn't appraise as much as it would in a neighborhood of all custom homes.

Anything else to consider?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

Iowacommute
10 years ago
You would have to look at all of the cookie cutter homes. :)
User
Original Author
10 years ago
Why?
Related Discussions
Craftsman, Tudor, Victorian replaced with cookie cutter?
Q
Comments (16)
Profit margins in houses are pretty tight these days and you have to make enough money to stay in business. I have a friend just south of Houston who is a cabinet maker but tries to do ornamental carving as a side line. He is pretty good but those jobs are far and few between. We did a house last year where we used a Flemish bond instead of a common bond on the brick. Most trades people in my experience would prefer quality over quantity but they need people to want that and ask for it. When they bid a project the first question they are often asked is -How little money can you get the job done for? I do agree, I had the same experience building houses and the constant struggle to eliminate unnecessary problems caused by sloppy work. It is a challenge to build quality and stay competitive at the same time. I just think that this has pretty much always been the case and it is nothing particularly different today. I have read that wages for construction workers have been pretty stagnant for the past 30 years while upper incomes have grown fairly significantly. I think would have an effect on their attitude.
...See More
Cookie Cutter Developer or Custom. Which is easier to sell?
Q
Comments (3)
The established development house has plenty of nearly identical comps, but often they've been customized a bit, unless it's in a transient neighborhood. You can get hurt in a new development that has petered out leaving vacant lots, or where a buyer can buy your model *brand new* from an active builder. Oft-transferred people do best to buy the easy-comp generic homes. Our 2900 sq ft single story on an acre is one of the smallest houses in our immediate neighborhood. There are few 1950's houses left on acres -- one fewer after we did our teardown. Up the street are large homes on more land -- some 19th Century, some from the 1930's, and two over the top 12K sq ft newer builds. Down the street are some 5K sq ft teardown replacements. It's good to be 'small' among the well-to-do. Our location makes our house more valuable.
...See More
How to add drama to cookie cutter front door/steps
Q
Comments (27)
The point is to repeat the same color so that together you get a bigger dramatic effect rather than something hodgepodgy. I agree painting your door, storm door, and side lights the same as the shutters will help. As others have noted, a magnetic wreath hanger (2 piece) or large command hook will hold your wreath to the glass. Make sure to get one that can hold at least 6 lbs. As shown above, sweet potato vine "marguerite" (the lime green one) always adds drama and it gets very large if you don't cut it back, adding more drama! It's ubiquitous but very effective, especially if you plant it with purples, black, and whites. The key with plants is OVER SIZE and overplant in the containers or you lose the street effect. Don't think about what looks good to you while standing 5 feet away from it on your porch, or looking down on it--go down to the street and see it from 20 or 30 feet away, and looking UP to it. Does it register from the street? Can you see it driving down the road? Yes! If not, it isn't eye catching enough yet and you need more and bigger. Don't be afraid to go huge as long as it's natural and elegant. Instead of 1 pumpkin on a box, you could do something like this: It doesn't all have to be about plants and pots. You can get super creative. My neighbor has a dress form on her porch (which is no bigger than yours). This isn't hers, but she does similar things to it seasonally: Kind of the same idea as decorating an old bicycle with flowers. As long as you're the first in your neighborhood to do it, it's interesting. Also PS: Don't use iron planters if you get a lot of sun there--your roots will fry. You can get fiberglass ones that look like the iron ones though (and they'll probably be cheaper too.)
...See More
New Construction (Cookie Cutter Builder) not sure how much we can do?
Q
Comments (15)
You could go for broke and spread out the kitchen. In just a few years you're going to have many potential cooks/helpers, so having separate clean-up and cooking zones, and multiple prep areas will provide space for everyone to work. Helpers could be loading or unloading the DW(s), or gathering dishes to set the table, without crossing your work space. Someone could be making lunches while you are cooking breakfast. Even now, you should consider a bigger fridge, or two 30" refrigerators. You'd even have space for a bigger range. Without measurements I don't know if this will fit, or if you have this much latitude with the layout and cabinets.
...See More
robynstamps
10 years ago
I honestly don't think I would care. :) If you are building a custom home yourself and are still in a nice neighborhood with nice neighbors, I wouldn't mind at all.
kirkhall
10 years ago
Check on HOAs too. A lot of the time, those cookie cutter "custom" homes will have an HOA for required maintenance.
Naf_Naf
10 years ago
The main thing to consider is the price of your new house. If it will be the most expensive house in that neighborhood, then it will not be a good idea to buy there because you might have resale problems. In other words, it will not be a good business.
greg_2010
10 years ago
You would have to look at all of the cookie cutter homes. :)
Why?

It was a joke. The downside of building in a neighbourhood of cookie cutter homes is that when you look out of the window in your nice custom built home, you'd see cookie cutter homes instead of other nice custom built homes.
Skyangel23
10 years ago
I agree with naf_naf. If the price of your custom home is still comparable w/ the cookie cutter homes in the neighborhood, than it doesn't matter. If you home would cost more than all the others, then you will have issues with resale whether the other homes were custom or cookie cutter, imo.
Iowacommute
10 years ago
Thanks Greg yes it was a joke. My parents have a house in a quiet neighborhood of small ranches and story and a halfs built in the early '60s. It is a blue collar neighborhood and can see the different 'templates' the builders used.

I remember one time when one of my dad's best friends (who lives in a beautiful custom home on acreage just outside of the city) said to my dad "I could barely find your house because they all look alike." That has stuck with me so I was also being serious. We will build in a few years on a farm though, and I would think if you're going through the trouble you would want the area around your house perfect as can be.

Even though DH and I have been together for 14 years he still has trouble remembering which house is my parent's house. Although that may be for different reasons. ;)
zone4newby
10 years ago
I wouldn't want to have the only custom home in a brand new neighborhood. The big advantage to building in a new neighborhood is that everyone is new and looking to make friends. But if your house sets you apart as someone who thinks the rest of the neighborhood's choices weren't good enough for you, then that might make for some pretty uncomfortable block parties. If you've got jealous types on your block, you could easily end up the odd family out.
rmsmi
10 years ago
It all depends on how nice those cookie cutter homes are and what the lots are like. Big or small. Wooded land. Barren and no trees. Backyards with neighbors, Backyards with nature.
dgruzew
10 years ago
I probably would not - but not because of the cookie cutter homes. Mainly because areas like that are far away from a town center and require you to drive everywhere.

the reason we chose to buy a lot and build was because we could not find anything for sale in our neighborhood.
xc60
10 years ago
We did, but we wanted to live in town and that's the only option. We do have a custom plan that we designed but the exterior of our home had to follow the neighborhood guidelines. We like our lot and our home will be beautiful but the one really big negitive was having to use one of the two builders the developer allowed. We did not have the option to chose any builder and unfortunately the one we ended up using has been horrible. Cookie cutter neighbourhoods are part of living in the city nowadays.
scrappy25
10 years ago
We are one of three homes that were built 15 years later than the original homes, but the style is similar to the others.As a result, we are not part of the neighborhood covenants but are surrounded by those that are. We still join the community association and follow all the rules, but don't need to ask for permission to make exterior improvements or changes. It would be a pain to have to go through the architectural committee every time we wanted to change some trim paint color.

Would you buy a lot in a neighborhood of cookie cutters?

Comments (13)

Iowacommute

User
Original Author

Related Discussions

robynstamps

kirkhall

Naf_Naf

greg_2010

Skyangel23

Iowacommute

zone4newby

rmsmi

dgruzew

xc60

scrappy25

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Would you buy a lot in a neighborhood of cookie cutters?

Comments (13)

UserOriginal Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

User
Original Author