What is a Duet Home?
Now that I've had the pleasure of representing several Sellers of Bayview Estates Duet Homes, one of the most common questions I get from home buyers is, "What is a Duet?"
Basically, duet homes are considered attached single family homes. For the most part they are two stories, somewhat newer construction, and each owner respectively also has title to the land underneath their dwelling.
Many people assume that duets share a common wall, similar to townhomes and condominiums. However, in the case of Alameda's first modern day development, build in 1964, Bayview Estates, (near the foot of Broadway and Shoreline Drive), there is actually airspace between the interior living space walls to enhance sound-proofing. The only shared wall is in the garage.
One day while sorting through a family's paperwork to make sure nothing we were disposing of made it into the hands of identity thieves, I found the original Bayview Estates marketing material including model descriptions, floor plans, pricing and financing.
Among the 18 "plus features in all Bayview duet homes", were listed "special sound deadening walls" and "sprayed acoustical ceilings". Anecdotally, my sellers have shared that they rarely hear (or heard) their neighbors. Of course, there is always the exception to the rule, so if you are looking for absolute silence in your living situation, a duet may not be for you.
Bayview Estates is located in Alameda's South Shore Neighborhood
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