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I

n our last newsletter, I shared with you a simple rule of thumb that I use in trying to determine the value of country property. I mentioned the important ratio of 1 to 4 in terms of the raw land value to the total investment.

This time I would like to address the question of uniqueness and its relative merits. From time to time people will consult me prior to building or to renovating their cottage, or sometimes upon a visit to a cottage, I will be presented with innovative architectural designs with the full expectation that I will be wildly impressed. Sometimes I am. Particularly in houses designed by the architect Len Warshaw. Most of the time, however, I am presented with what I call "One and Only's".

When designing a country house, uniqueness is rarely a good investment. Imagine how hard it is to sell a house in which the kitchen counters and staircases were built for a couple both of whom are over six feet tall. In such a house you are likely to find that the windows give most people an excellent view of the sky, and your feet will not be able to climb the staircase in the natural, unconscious way that they do on a standard staircase.

People often build the country house to express their unique interests or fetishes, and the more unique they are the harder it is to find another one who will want to buy the house. Whereas it might be beautiful to visit, or sufferable to rent, it might be hard to unload.

A good exercise is to imagine the raw land, say a buildable waterfront lot with a good frontage, sunny exposure and a gentle slope. It is a sought- after item. Ten out of ten buyers looking for a waterfront lot will be pleased. Next, imagine the model of home that will be placed on the land. While nine out of ten buyers might be happy with a 1-1/2 storey cottage on this location, perhaps one in fifty would prefer a tower. If you build the tower, you might need fifty times the number of showings before the house sells.

Some years ago I was asked to sell a house that was in a secluded area on a dozen acres of land. The owner was an artist who had given an architect friend a completely free hand in the design of the house. The architect incorporated cathedral ceilings, a sunken living room, a mezzanine and a modern, open master bedroom into a house with strange shaped windows and a flat roof. By the time I got to see the house, the exterior finishing was fading and the years had given the building the distinct aura of an administrative building attached to a hospital. To add to the effect, another artist, a friend of the owner, had built a classical square log house across the valley. Most every visitor asked with a longing look if the log house were perhaps for sale.

The classical, not the unique, is the theme to explore in designing and building your country property. This even applies to the neighbourhood. If you want a bungalow, don't build it in a development of log homes. Examine the other houses on the lake or in the project and see if you can discern a theme.

Most people will tell you that they never built their house to sell it, that they built it for themselves. The one who built the house for himself and made it a monument to the classical at the same time will sell the most easily and for the highest price. There is an irony, nevertheless, in the fact that so many people wish their country houses to be unique that the classical often end up being the only ones to fit that description!

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