Duplex House Floor Plans
Duplex house floor plans come in a variety of options, including 2 bed, 2 bath options. They are usually designed to be good at conserving space, which can be especially useful if you’re dealing with a relatively narrow lot, and if you’re in the market to build with the intention of renting it out, this may be the option that you’re looking for, as they can be built to optimize your rental income while keeping your costs down.
Duplexes offer many great features, however, there are other things that you may want to consider as well.
| Features to consider | ||
| 5 bedroom | 3 bedroom | With porch |
| Tiny, with loft | carriage | Small, with loft |
| Octogan | Tiny | Tower |
Rather than putting two individually standing homes on two different lots, this is the option that will give you individual living spaces easily allowing two families to live side by side. They come in many different variations, and can even have a garage in the middle, and here are some of the ones we have collected on the website for you to check out.
Garage in the Middle
Duplexes with their garages in the middle is a popular style for the cost-conscious investor who wishes to maximize their returns while not having to buy a bigger lot than they need to, and also keeping down the cost of materials in the process. So yes, if you have a narrow lot, this is exactly the type of option you might want to consider.
While the traditional duplex house is great for saving money, putting the garages in the middle will give the tenants an increased feeling of privacy. No longer do you have to endure listening to whenever the couple in the other apartment accidentally decided to wash a red sock with the rest of the dirty laundry. In turn, you can hopefully expect to have your tenants living there for a longer time than would otherwise be the case, and you won’t end up running around showing the house to new tenants each single month. Take a closer look around the site, add filters to your search, and we’re sure you’ll end up finding a plan that best suits your needs.
Multi-Family Option
Are you looking for an option with one facade, yet still offering the capabilities of having several families living there without being bothered by each other. The plans on this page allow just that as they may at first just look like it’s intended for one family, but when you look closer, you’ll realize that they more than just one family living there, and while it is often two families, it can be more than that.
Multi-family options offer significant financials benefits when they’re being built as your ROI can usually be significantly better than if you were to build individually standing homes. You could also always move into one unit while renting out the other.
Duplexes are just one type of these multi-family units, whether or not they have the garage in the middle or not. As you’re scrolling this page, you’ll see that they’re available in many different sizes, and while some individual units may be 1,400 sq feet, others can offers significantly more space per unit. While they are unlikely to offer the unique appeal you may find from a tower house, there are significant cost benefits to them.
1,200 sq ft is common for a duplex
The 1,200 sq ft plans are the second most requested on our site, when our users specifically ask for square footage, right after the most popular option, the 1,000 square foot designs.
Because of that, we have chosen to create its own dedicated page for the purpose, where we list designs that are around 1,200 square foot. Whether you simply want a one-bedroom or a 2 bedroom, 2 bath design, this is a common size for homes.
If you’re looking for something with 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or even 10 bedrooms, you have probably landed on the wrong page and you may rather be interested in visiting visiting some of our other pages with alternatives that have around 1,800, 2,000, 2,200, 2,500 or 3,000 square feet, and especially the more bedrooms you desire to have.
Have you noticed that some of the plans on here are more or less than 1,200 sq ft? Yes, we know that too, but it’s because we have set up the pages so that you will find plans that are +/- 250 sq ft of the search term you came here looking for, and that does mean that plans on this page go down as low as 950 sq ft and up to 1,450 sq ft. You can of course narrow your search, should you still be interested in ones of a specific size.
2 Master Suites
Designs with 2 master suites offer a level of flexibility you may not be able to find in your average home, and while you may have a reason to favor that specific design, it’s not like you need one. Sometimes it’s just nice to not be confined to one single master suite.
If you have your Mother-in-law living with you, it’s really nice to have another full bathroom attached to the room that she is staying in so as to avoid unnecessary confrontation. If you have a lot of guests passing through, this may also be the nicer option, where you can simply offer them a room rather than force them to drive home when it suddenly gets very late as you’ve been playing cards all night.
It provides your guests or other people in the house the possibility to retreat and have their personal space, no matter if they’re your kids, parents or simply guests. It’s a great way to make people feel welcome.
Some of the master suites may also be located in each side of the house, which additionally gives a feeling of privacy. Besides having two master suites, which isn’t the norm, they come in various styles just like any other type.
3 bedroom options
Your average family has a lot of needs, but most of these will be addressed if they find themselves a 3 bedroom option to live in. What that means is that the couple themselves will have their own bedroom, and if you’re like most others with two kids, each kid will also have their own bedroom when they’re old enough. If they are still small, you can put them in the same room until they become bigger at which point they will likely be grateful to get their own rooms, but at that point, you may not even desire living in a 3 bedroom duplex anymore either way. Up until that point, you’ll be able to use that spare bedroom as an office or whatever you’re otherwise hoping to use it for.
Cost to build
While we would love to tell you that it is easy t0 estimate the cost to build the duplex with the associated floor plans that we have available, the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of factors that play a significant role. For instance, if you haven’t yet purchased the lot to put the house on, that is a sizable cost also that you need to factor into the whole equation.
Duplexes can be great opportunities to build significant wealth, however, there are a great number of ways to put your special touch on the design, including if they’re intended as lake houses, with potential walkout basements.
| Special factors to consider | ||
| Mountain views | Customization | Waterfront |
| Vintage | Lake | Walkout basement |
Ones that look like single-family homes
While some people may not have strong preferences on the exterior of the building, we are also often approached by users that have a very strong preference for floor plans that simply look like single-family homes and don’t have the usual symmetric look of a duplex.
These designs tend to have a bit more creative designs in that they’re made not to be symmetric but stand out slightly more like you would find with the more unique H-shaped options. It will also likely mean that you’re not confined to having two identical units but rather ones that have individual, and more interesting floor plans, too.
Modern, luxury options
Not every family wants to live in a house made of logs that has a more traditional appeal to it. For a lot of owners, they both want the appeal of a good investment opportunity that you get from a duplex, but they also want to live in a modern space. What does that mean for you? Well, it can mean a bunch of things including open floor plans, bright spaces, but it can also mean a modern kitchen that has all the appliances you could possibly dream of. Have we got you excited yet? Get the luxury your life deserves!
Smaller options
When it comes to the best investments, you’re usually safer if you’re avoiding building too much house rather than building something that is too small. The important thing is that you’re comparing what you’re building to what you’re expecting to surround it at the time that you’re planning on selling, as those are the things that will be used to compare against for potential buyers and real estate agents. In those cases, stacked duplexes or ones where each unit is about 800 sq ft turn out to be really popular among investors. While you can find options that vary all the way from tiny to small, through really quite large, the important thing is that you find the option that works specifically for you.
Having an elevator installed if you are building a 2-story or 3-story duplex
If you are planning on using this as a place where you are likely to retire in the future, while you still want to be able to rent out the other part of it, you might want to consider the importance of various features like accessibility and such.
While many duplexes are either 2-storey or 3-storey, you will be increasing the use of the home significantly by finding plans that have elevators thought into them.
One-story, ranch-style designs
If you like the typical ranch-style homes that include a flat, one-story look to them, you’re not alone. Be sure to set up the filters on this page so that you will only get the most relevant plans shown to you. An advantage to those are definitely that you won’t have to worry about accessibility the same way that you would with other options. Ranches also typically have a very open floor layout that is very popular, although it unfortunately doesn’t fare well if you have a very narrow lot.
Cool, narrow lots
Whether you’re building a duplex or not, you’re probably looking for a cool option to build, and while we would all love those massive lots, realistically speaking, there are a lot of people that have fairly narrow lots, especially if they live in areas where house prices, and therefore also lot prices are extremely high.
Building on the beach?
A lot of homeowners love the idea of building their own homes and want to do so on the beach, and that is definitely possible. The disadvantage to building on the beach is usually the price tag that comes with it, and by building a duplex there you are more easily able to offset some of the costs you will be incurring.
Let them serve as a great townhouse
It’s not just if you’re building on the beach that you want to build something rather compact that best makes use of the fact that you are building on an expensive lot, but it can also be when you’re looking to build a townhouse, why these options are great for the purpose, too.
Do you need a basement?
Getting a home with a basement is a feature that many families greatly appreciate, and it is no different when it comes to designs with this style. Choose the filter to make sure the options included all have basements so you will have a place to either use as a home gym, or a place where you can set up the room that the kids always wanted.
From tiny to 4 bedroom options, or even something larger, we have plans that can accommodate even the most untraditional multi-family wishes, having them go as small as 400 sq ft per unit. These are great energy-efficient options, and we hope that you’ll be finding just the match that will make you happy for years to come.
If you have specific requirements such as having them either East-facing or desiring to have something of 600 sq ft, we might already have plans available on the page, but you may also have to work directly with architects to alter the design of your choice.
Considerations when you’re building
When you decide that the type that you plan on building is a duplex, your journey isn’t quite over yet. While we may have gone over some of the considerations that you should be aware of, you’re still not at a point where you have chosen the one that you will use in order to apply for the necessary building permits for. You still have a long journey ahead of you, but hopefully by now you feel as if you are slightly better equipped.
The duplex can be the right way to go for many families, especially ones that are very focused on the potential cashflow that it can generate. For many, it’s the most attainable and lucrative real estate project they can get into, not requiring the massive amounts of financing that some of the bigger multi-family units require, while still subsidizing your mortgage while you live there.
Besides cash flow, these buildings also generate equity, and then you have one of the advantages that only very few landlords have – you won’t have a long way to travel if a situation exists, or if you have to show the unit to a different person.
As with any other type, when you’re building it, you will want to ensure that you’re budgeting responsibly and accounting for any potential cost that may not be in your current budget. It’s also a good idea that you contact the local building department so as to make sure that this is in fact a type of style that you’re allowed to build. Although many communities won’t have restrictions on the building of duplexes, it is not universally the case.
Before you move forward with the project, you will want to ensure that you have the necessary funds in case you won’t immediately be able to rent out the other unit of the duplex. One of our recommendations is that you perform a feasibility study which includes budgeting different scenarios depending on how both the construction and rental process goes. This study will take the mortgage into account that you will be paying, and you will make different budgets depending on the amount that you expect from renting out the other unit. If you live in an area where it is easy to rent out a unit, that’s great. However, if you live in an area where it might be slightly unsure as to the amount of money you might be able to get for the additional unit, you might want to make sure that you’re being conservative in your budgeting.
We encourage you to start looking at as many different sources as possible in order to ensure that the amount of rental income that you are anticipating receiving, and therefore using for the basis of your budgeting, is as close to the exact figure as possible. Find comparable rental units and see what they are being rented for, and if you want to be on the conservative side, we recommend that you deduct 15% and use the figure that you get from that for budgeting purposes.
Duplexes are definitely great investment opportunities, why we understand that you are looking to build one, but it is important that you make sure you do it right.
People sometimes think there’s only one way to build a duplex – that’s not right. There are various styles to choose between so that your multi-family project stands out in the neighborhood.
| Styles to consider | |
| Lake | Pole barn |
| Ultra modern | Rustic |
| Square | Cottage-style |
Have you made sure that you are ready to be a landlord?
One of the things that are so important to us is that future builders know what they are getting themselves into when they choose to buy a house plan from our website. Duplexes can be great buildings to own, providing you with a good possibility to build consistent wealth. When you know what you are doing, they can be the direct reason why you may significantly be able to change your lifestyle. When all that has bene said, it’s also important to note that being a landlord is not necessarily everyone’s dream. Since you are probably looking at building a duplex because of the possibilities that it offers, it’s also important that you know the potential downsides there are to it, and it is important that you are properly preparing yourself for everything that it takes.
Being a landlord can be really easy when you find good, consistent tenants that pay on time, where you aren’t experiencing any significant issues with them, but it can also be a lot of work if you don’t find the right tenants.
There’s no denying that either building or buying a duplex is perhaps the easiest way to start building wealth in real estate, especially as the rental income can help you qualify for the mortgage you are likely applying for. One of the reasons why you may choose to build a duplex rather than building a traditional house that you rent out is also because you might collectively be able to get a higher amount of money per square foot. If you were building a traditional home, where you would also be able to live there, you would need to build an entire two units, which is harder to qualify for, whereas you may have an easier time getting a loan approved for a duplex.
Are we trying to discourage you from going forward with this project? No, we would love for you to buy one of the house designs we feature on the website. The sale of these house designs is what allows us to run the platform that we do, and our continued operations rely on the revenue that it brings us. With that being said, our ultimate goal is to ensure that as many people as absolutely possible are happy with the experience when they purchase from us, which includes making sure that we match them with the type of house that best matches their individual needs.
We truly appreciate every single person or family that chooses to use the services that we offer on here, and we wish everyone the best on their adventures to soon becoming landlords. It is a great way for you to perhaps change the financial path for you and your family!
We are simply helping you make sure that you make the right choice
Since you have made it this far, it is probably not the first time you have thought about the implications associated with being a landlord, and we are happy that you are making the decision that you are making. It is exciting that you are currently looking at building the home that is going to change the financial future for you and your family.
When you have chosen the design that you want, we encourage you to start looking at the various guides online that may specifically help you out in terms of properly furnishing these duplexes. While the house plans we sell here serve as the framework of the house, there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to the actual inside of the home. There are a lot of things to think about, including whether you want one unit to be nicer than the other one, or whether you want the two units to be identical.
When you are choosing the interior decorations and finishes of the space that you are wanting to live in, there is a chance that you may not require the same standard for the other unit. Although you may be interested in ensuring that the rental unit is still on par with the expectancy for the neighborhood, it is widely known that you probably won’t make the best financial decision by installing high end finishes in a rental unit. You may have certain finishes that you want in the unit that you are living in that you don’t want to pay extra for in order to have installed in the rental unit. Whether you are buying a house in order to do various projects inside of it or whether you are building a rental unit, you are always walking a fine line of making it sufficiently nice that you can get as much value out of it, while still ensuring that you aren’t overspending on the project. When you are building a rental unit, thinking about the durability of the various things you are including, is a good idea!
With all that being said, we are excited that you are now ready to choose the right design for the home that you are building, and we truthfully hope that it becomes a financial success for you!
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