[jlstyle]

I'm currently in process of rebuilding my own house and I'm torn between which scheme to go with...

Floor plan is exactly the same and just exterior is different.

Background: House was on fire and single story part is being rebuilt and two story part is slightly damaged and being renovated with existing frame work.

Key notes:
Total:2,800 sq ft.
Rooms: 4
Bath: 3
Garage: 1 car
Lot: 100'x100'
Neighbor: Growing above average community (~4,000 sq ft $850k+ homes, and ours is the one of the smallest) with mostly newly built traditional house with couple of modern houses, but none of them has flat roofs.

What would you pick?
Modern homes were my long time dream but I'm little afraid of resale value, and out of trend issue.
But same time, I'm afraid I'm going to agonize not building a modern house if I go with traditional.
And FYI, modern one's design is still in progress.

Please share your thoughts.

-Updates: I just spoke to my contractor and adding additional garage is going to cost additional 10% of project budget due to significant changes on framing and foundation. So it's totally off the list now.
And modern design has been revised and it is final.

[pukicabuki]

2800 sq/ft and only a 1 car garage? I think that'll hurt resale a ton.

[nmulax]

Why only one garage - especially in a neighborhood of that price?

I like the first modern home; but if it's going to look out of place in the area, go with the traditional.

[Nkc]

Modern....the minimalist effect will actually save you money here and there. With your layout, you're more likely to change the exterior appearance as you please when the time comes. You'll get more variations with the modern styling compared to the traditional.

Plus its your house that you're building and living in. It should be what you like and the modern look kicks ass. But only 1 car garage?

[MrPrena]

Modern - More detailed

2+ car garage will be a great + for resale and for yourself.

[jlstyle]

yes unfortunately, cost of adding another garage adds substantial cost in our case -need to rework footing and foundation with new framing on the 2nd floor- that breaks our budget. Sad but something I just can't afford.

[Nkc]

If you really cared about resale, I think you would make that additional investment for the second garage space. I can't imagine how it would break your budget. Could you elaborate more on your building budget?

[pukicabuki]

Originally Posted by Nkc

If you really cared about resale, I think you would make that additional investment for the second garage space. I can't imagine how it would break your budget. Could you elaborate more on your building budget?

+1

I imagine a 1 car garage in a neighborhood like that would hurt resale more than the style of the house.

[Maestro]

Here is couple of thoughts,

First you need to stay within norm of the community, do not do something which is too much different from what the neighboring houses look like. Reason being your place will stand out for more wrong reasons than good. If you're worried about resell this is going to be an issue if the house is outside the norms.

I too like a modern looking house but only bough traditional homes since every modern home I ever looked to buy in the past was always on the market a long time and just did not look like it belong where it was. Now if you do not have neighbors you can pretty much do what ever you like, it is being in a neighborhood which screws you for doing what you want. Grant it there are places in the US where ever home looks completely different and it does not matter what you or the neighbors do, but those places are unique.

As some pointed out a modern home costs on the out side will be far less which allows you to put more high end things inside the house which usually goes a long way when trying to sell. But curb appeal is what gets them in the door. There are cost effective ways to make the outside look upscale with out going to high end materials and most people have no idea, as long as it looks good and holds up.

[P1]

Definitely the second one. Pity about only the single garage. As much as I would love the house, that would be an immediate deal breaker for me. And unfortunately, I see this trend quite a bit these days.

[JasonCSU]

I like the more detailed modern plan best but also think the traditional plan looks really good. As others have said, it really depends on the neighborhood for how well a modern design will fit in.

[Red Bread]

Screw your neighbors, build what you want.

[jlstyle]

Originally Posted by Nkc

If you really cared about resale, I think you would make that additional investment for the second garage space. I can't imagine how it would break your budget. Could you elaborate more on your building budget?

Originally Posted by pukicabuki

+1

I imagine a 1 car garage in a neighborhood like that would hurt resale more than the style of the house.

Originally Posted by P1et

Definitely the second one. Pity about only the single garage. As much as I would love the house, that would be an immediate deal breaker for me. And unfortunately, I see this trend quite a bit these days.

Yes, I do agree that I need 2 car garage as well for myself before anything.
It costs quite a lot to make garage bigger because we can only grow the garage to the left for the zoning issue and that involves knocking down the part of house where it is not affected by the fire, and this involves foundation and footings too. Fire happened short after we bought the house so we have very limited cash available to spend on.
It

[smyles]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Screw your neighbors, build what you want.

/\ This +1000 /\.

Will you budget allow significant re-design within the current footprint? Personally I'd move 2nd level away from the garage. Or kept it, but repurposed the above space for bathrooms/laundry room/etc.

[jlstyle]

Originally Posted by smyles

/\ This +1000 /\.

Will you budget allow significant re-design within the current footprint? Personally I'd move 2nd level away from the garage. Or kept it, but repurposed the above space for bathrooms/laundry room/etc.

Building foot print is fairly small and we are keeping master suite above the garage so single level part is all guest/entertainment.

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Screw your neighbors, build what you want.

I tend to be in that camp myself, I got a few neighbors who have hated me for the things I have done in my garage and the car stuff (restored a mustang in one of my garages). Actually had one neighbor show up in my garage 2 in the morning since my son was trying to get his car fixed for the next day and he was screaming at him for working in the middle of the night. I live in the house can I could not hear my son working on the car.

But my point is, if you think you are going to dying in that house, and could care less how long it takes to sell, do what you want since YOLO. However, if you know you plan to move think about resell.

[apexit]

Have you considered extending the length of the garage to make it a 2 car? I'm with the others, at this price point I'd NEEd a minimum of a 2 car garage.

[BrokenVert]

No matter what you should consider tiling the roof with solar panels.

[Fifty3bags]

I like the modern look. Like all the other posters said I would try and do a 2 car garage if possible. Since you have your second story above the garage it would also add square footage if you were to extend that portion as well increasing your resale potential.

[kevinbahnz]

Modern, 2 car garage or a car lift.

[Maestro]

Here is something else to consider, flat rooms and my information may be outdated these days, however, my understanding is they can be a bit of maintenance issue specially in area of lots of rain and snow and seeing you're in NJ we get both some years far more than others.

ON the other hand your traditional design show some steep roof lines and I can tell you form experience those are a pain to deal with, not that you ever have to replace a roof in the next 20 or 30 yrs, but those are far more costly to get work done on.

Sorry have you narrow your decision down yet.

[jlstyle]

Originally Posted by Maestro

Here is something else to consider, flat rooms and my information may be outdated these days, however, my understanding is they can be a bit of maintenance issue specially in area of lots of rain and snow and seeing you're in NJ we get both some years far more than others.

ON the other hand your traditional design show some steep roof lines and I can tell you form experience those are a pain to deal with, not that you ever have to replace a roof in the next 20 or 30 yrs, but those are far more costly to get work done on.

Sorry have you narrow your decision down yet.

I have almost made my mind to go with modern now.

And for the maintenance, if flat roofs are done right, they should have no problem.
Most of commercial buildings have flat roof and do not suffer from leakage.
But if it's not done right, it will be the worst nightmare