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Topic: Housing terminology: I'm SO confused!  (Read 1411 times)

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Housing terminology: I'm SO confused!
« on: June 20, 2011, 09:47:34 PM »
In looking at rental housing on rightmove.co.uk, I'm getting very confused by the different names the agents call their properties.

I know that some dwellings will be defined differently depending on the location but, for example, (looking in the Newcastle area, where we'll live), what's the difference between a "terraced house" and a "semi-detached house"?

Here are the different phrases and what I think they mean. Please correct me or fill in definitions where I'm missing them:

Terrace - a connected row of two(or more) story houses where there are at least 3 houses in a line?
Semi-detached - two connected houses (like a duplex here in the States)?
Townhome - no idea how it's different from a Terraced house?
Villa - no idea?
Bungalow - a single-story detached (stand-alone) house?
Flat - a rented unit that comprises of a single floor of a multi-story rental building? (although when I search for "houses", I also pull up some "flats")


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Re: Housing terminology: I'm SO confused!
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2011, 10:38:06 PM »
In looking at rental housing on rightmove.co.uk, I'm getting very confused by the different names the agents call their properties.

I know that some dwellings will be defined differently depending on the location but, for example, (looking in the Newcastle area, where we'll live), what's the difference between a "terraced house" and a "semi-detached house"?

Here are the different phrases and what I think they mean. Please correct me or fill in definitions where I'm missing them:

Terrace - a connected row of two(or more) story houses where there are at least 3 houses in a line?
Semi-detached - two connected houses (like a duplex here in the States)?
Townhome - no idea how it's different from a Terraced house?
Villa - no idea?
Bungalow - a single-story detached (stand-alone) house?
Flat - a rented unit that comprises of a single floor of a multi-story rental building? (although when I search for "houses", I also pull up some "flats")

Terraced: correct
Semi-detached: yes, but these are typically side by side attacted, a maisonette is when they are "attached" by one being above the other.
Townhome/Townhouse:  these used to be houses in town owned by the upper-class, they are now usually modern terraced houses that are 3 stories with a garage on the ground floor.
Villa: originally it was a country home built around a courtyard inside a plot of land. However, Wikipedia says that is it basically another word for bungalow. 
Bungalow: any simply single story house without a basement.  It does not have to be detached.
Flat: doesn't have to be rented; it is basically an apartment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_house_types

Try not to get bogged down by all the different names.


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Re: Housing terminology: I'm SO confused!
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2011, 10:54:19 PM »
Thanks, Pengi!


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