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Split levels often have small kitchens that don’t have a back door leading to a deck for bbqing. Also the family room is not near the kitchen making it less desirable for young families who like to have sight lines and access to play areas.
I have lived in what I call split level and tri level.
Tri level was first. Bottom level had kitchen, dining room, family room, 1/2 bath with laundry, door out to backyard patio (no stairs). The family room and the dining room had each had a set of stairs up to the middle level. Middle level was large living room with cathedral ceiling and one corner overlooked the dining room. The front door was on this level. There were six steps up to the next level where there were 3 bedrooms and one full bath.
Split level was next. When you entered the front door you were confronted with 6 steps up and six steps down. Lower level was two car garage, full bath and laundry, family room, and a bedroom with sliding glass doors out to a backyard. Upper level had kitchen, dining room, living room, 3 bedrooms, and one full bath.
Now that I am older, I require no stairs in my home.
Yeah that definitely doesn't give off any sort of "split level" vibe IMO. Definitely a charmer. Congrats!
Thank you. The appraisal came in today and I thought some here might find some of it interesting.
Age of house: 139 years old
Zoning: Old Town Residential
Foundation: Crawl space
#of Stories: One
Style: Ranch with lower level
Basement: None (all living area is above grade)
Square footage was 1580 sq ft. The advertised listing had the square footage at 958. I'm sure many other people would have been interested in looking at the house if the square footage in the listing was correct.
So, as far as the appraiser is concerned, it's a single story ranch with a lower level, no basement. Never is split level mentioned.
The appraisal came in where it needed to be for the sale without a hitch.
Last edited by marino760; 10-03-2019 at 04:15 PM..
Thank you. The appraisal came in today and I thought some here might find some of it interesting.
Age of house: 139 years old
Zoning: Old Town Residential
Foundation: Crawl space
#of Stories: One
Style: Ranch with lower level
Basement: None (all living area is above grade)
Square footage was 1580 sq ft. The advertised listing had the square footage at 958. I'm sure many other people would have been interested in looking at the house if the square footage in the listing was correct.
So, as far as the appraiser is concerned, it's a single story ranch with a lower level, no basement. Never is split level mentioned.
The appraisal came in where it needed to be for the sale without a hitch.
I'm glad the appraisal came in where it needed to be, but I'm curious about who, besides you, called this a split level?
I'm glad the appraisal came in where it needed to be, but I'm curious about who, besides you, called this a split level?
It was just me and my ignorance. I had researched what this style could be called and from what I read, split level seamed to fit best. Live and learn. I've never heard of a ranch style with a lower level not considered a basement.
Split levels often have small kitchens that don’t have a back door leading to a deck for bbqing. Also the family room is not near the kitchen making it less desirable for young families who like to have sight lines and access to play areas.
I have lived in a split level for a decade, and mine is like this. As someone who grills a lot, it is a real pain to go down the half flight of stairs from the kitchen, through the family room, out the back door, and up the half flight of stairs to the grill. I'm shocked that I have yet to drop a raw piece of chicken or a burger patty en route to or from the grill.
One of the reasons split levels were developed was that they could have similar square footage to a ranch, but have a smaller footprint and can therefore be built on a smaller lot. As I said, I have lived in a tri-level for ten years, and it has its pros and cons. The front door is at ground level, and this level of the house contains a living room and the eat-in kitchen. in the living room there is a half flight of stairs that goes up to the bedrooms and full bath. In the kitchen there is a half flight of stairs that goes down to a family room, half bath, laundry room, and the utility/storage room. This lower level isn't a basement, but half below grade, so there are full size windows. The back door opens up to a small landing and a half flight of stairs up to the driveway. Ours has a detached garage.
We have two children, and one thing that we like about having a split level vs a ranch is the separation of the family room from the bedrooms. We can watch a movie or talk at normal volumes down there after the kids are asleep without worrying too much about waking them up.
The biggest negative to me, which I touched in my first paragraph, is having the kitchen in the front of the house. For those of us who do it often, it does make grilling a pain. With young children it also makes it harder to keep an eye on them in the backyard, since you can't see them out of the kitchen window. Our daughter is 3 and we don't feel comfortable letting her play out there by herself.
They are all over the place in NJ. I do like them. Good layout with the kitchen/LR/DR all occupying one level and they have plenty of options for expansion if desired
Very cute house, Marino. I'd call it a Victorian cottage with a finished basement. You are lucky if there's not a water leakage problem. Guess the rain is funneled off by the street.
I think the appraisal/listing is because FHA will not consider a room living space if it is partially buried.
My childhood home (built in the 50's) was a precursor to the split foyer. You entered from around the right side, there was a porch of about 8' x 8' covered from the roofline of the top level. Steps down went to the living room, 1/2 bath, dining area, kitchen and utility room. Steps up went to 4 BR and 1 BA. The parking area was to the left of the house with steps down to the utility room and kitchen - that's where mom brought in the groceries so it was a direct route.
In this link they are call the featured home a bi-level The pic is similar to what I call a tri-level. It is near identical to the house I owned.
Bottom level (low, left) had kitchen, dining room, family room, 1/2 bath with laundry, door out to backyard patio (no stairs). The family room and the dining room had each had a set of stairs up to the middle level. Middle level (right side) was large living room with cathedral ceiling and one corner overlooked the dining room. The front door was on this level. There were six steps up to the next level (upper left) where there were 3 bedrooms and one full bath.
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I'm sure many other people would have been interested in looking at the house if the square footage in the listing was correct. 
