Wow! Lucky children. :)

Would love tosee photos of the interiors.

MOM! I've missed you! May I choose the one I would like? :)
and interior photos too please.

That is benevolence...what a wonderful gesture and a great way to keep family together. Those homes are beautiful...I would love to see the interiors too.

What beautiful homes. JudieGal. Lucky kids!

Reminds me of 3 charming houses down a rural road in southeast Louisiana. I can't remember if it's Hwy. 1 or 308 ... they both run on either side of Bayou Lafourche. Anyway, the story goes that a father built two almost identical homes on either side of his sometime in the early 1900s for his then young daughters.

So nice that you're able to do the same! Yes, please share interior shots!

This is our home which is also on the same property. We named our street, "Sorelle Place" for our 6 DD's. It is Italian for Sisters.

Our Tomato garden, along with lots of other veggies.
DH likes to can like the "Old Country"

Wow, those have got to be the most amazing weaning shacks ever. ;^)

How will you manage to get all your kids to commit to staying on the same street? Mine flew the nest and are located all around the country. Something they wanted to do. I think having my kids on a compound would create chaos in our family. Unless . . . I could declare myself the one true matriarch of the family and force them to live by me. It may sound good to you now but I think I would just rent out the houses to whomever.

Nana, some families are made that way. Would never have worked in mine. ;)

So far the 2 oldest 35 and 31 live on the street, and want to. DD #3 lives in Boston 20 minutes away, she is single and may choose not to live here. DD's # 4,5, and 6 are still home. The houses will be rented out for now, they are not necessarily going to be lived in by my DD's but when we are gone they will have them for an added income if they choose for them to remain rented. They all get along for the most part and like being able to stay around the house they grew up in.

Mom, since you and Pops are getting older, you really need to downsize, so my family & I will move into the main house while you and Pops can have one of the smaller homes. I think you'd be much happier! Love you, Judy Jr. lol

Seriously, I'm so envious you were able to do such a wonderful thing. To me, God and Family are all that matters.

We seriously made an offer on a home next door to our son, each house sits on 5 acres. They REALLY wanted us to be near them, even though they're only 20 min. away! Instead we built on and remodeled since all of our trees were full grown. We couldn't leave the trees!

I know your idea would certainly work in my family. We're all very close and enjoy being around each other tremendously. We're a "laugh-a-lot" family. :) Coming from a tiny family, I can't get enough of the one I created, along with my inlaws! I would love to live next door to all the inlaws. I guess that makes me nuts. lol

Could it be possible that you can post pictures of the inside of your home? It's been a long time since I've seen a three story house!

What rooms do you have on each level? Do you have one of those big attics full of beautiful "junk?"

Judi,
How wonderful for you and your family. Love the houses! I too would love to see the inside.

Beth P.

You have a beautiful home and lucky children!

juddgirl2,
I would love to know more about the hydroseeding.
How long does it take to come completely out.
The houses that you show finished, did you use hydroseeding there or only on the newest ones.
Thanks for any info.

I think it's awesome you guys did this. And you're right, if they decide they don't want to live there the option of renting is still available. Very nice. And now I want a BLT sandwich. :)

Judi, since moving to GA, we have discussed more than once purchasing a large tract of land and splitting it up 4 or 5 ways, with each of my DH siblings purchasing and building on it. It might even include a few nephews. He has 2 sisters and one of them for sure would be in on it, the other probably not as she is more the loner. The nephews and their families expressed interest too. It has not happened yet, nor has it been discussed lately, but it could DEFINITELY work with our family too.

My parents also bought a piece of land adjacent to their home in Idaho and for the longest time, we discussed my brother and I purchasing one each of the 2 homes...he already lives there, but at that time, I was not ready to move back to Idaho and then I got married and moved to GA and since then my dad decided to sell the properties and made a handsome profit (he did it while the markets were hot). So I guess I cant really blame him for that. I think your intentions are wonderful and if it works out as you envision it, then that will be something very special that you'll be leaving to your children. If it doesn't than it still was a lovely gesture.

I LOVE your home, I have tomatoe envy to say the least!! What I could do with all that space....ahhhhhhh

All of our homes have been hydroseeded. You can choose the type of seeds in the mixture and they also put in a starter fertilizer. If watered plenty you should see growth in about a week. NO weed killer until lawn is really established. You might get a lot of weeds at first expecially in the summer. Fall is actually a better time to seed. The established lawns on the fist 2 homes are from last fall. The new ones were just sprayed yesterday. My DH is a weed free lawn fanatic, and our lawns are the nicest around. I recommend the hydroseeding.

WOW! This is truly amazing and what a wonderful & generous gesture for your daughters - whether it provides them a home of their own or income property. They are very, very lucky and blessed.

What a lovely street and such pretty homes; Sorelle Place, great name.

Your lawn is like velvet, how do you keep it weed free?

Really nice Judiegirl, I haven't seen you for a while on here.

....Jane

Just as an aside on hydroseeding - be sure to research grass species and find out what is best for your zone. Don't just let the guy tell you - a high proportion of "quick up" annual species can give a fast green (also lower cost) but live for only one season. Look for perennial species - ask about the percent of weed seed in the mix. It makes a difference in the outcome. Ask also about the germination time & viability (why you want to stay away from herbicides - seed can be on the ground for quite awhile before germinating but is still viable).

What a wonderful idea!!! My gang could live like that, but unfortunately I can't fund it :^(
Thanks for showing us the really pretty homes...yours is beautiful!
J

"They all get along for the most part and like being able to stay around the house they grew up in."

I thought you just built your home recently to a couple of years ago?

Good to see you back on the boards. :) Love the rental homes. How far from your home are they? That's quite an undertaking getting four families to rent, and making sure they are suitable.

For those that haven't seen them, you should post some of the tomato basket photos (the Roma) you posted before.

Newhomebuilder, Long story. We started building our house while pregnant with DD#4. We tore down a delapitated house on a former farm/kennel/stable site. 14 acres in a upscale suburban town, which was unheard of at the time (1986). The house is huge and I mean huge (15,000 sq ft.) My husband is the builder/contractor so you know what that means. To this day there is a big portion that is still not done. We lived in a mobile home for 3 years while building (5 children, 2 pregnancies). When the house was 1/3 complete we moved in. Big mistake, things were comfortable enough so things went slow. Also $$ slowed down, we were doing this without funding. DH hired bricklayers in the middle of winter on the weekends! They layed brick under huge blue tarps on scaffolding with heaters blowing. I ran the espresso all day. (real masons from Italy ;) So it has been a work in progress forever. Don't get me wrong it is beautiful. Granite and hardwood floors. Our Master bath is just getting finished. Our home is at the corner of the new street. The rental homes are right outside. What used to be our huge garden and soccer field for the kids is now the street and new homes. There is still plenty of space for a smaller garden (only 300 tomato plants this year) and lots of other vegetables.)I could write a book!
To everyone else's compliments a sincere thank you.

I remember your story, now. Beautiful interior space. :) That's why I thought you had recently built, because you were asking questions about something inside... still building! lol

There is a house in our neighborhood that has been under construction for over 4 years now (pay as they go.) The neighborhood association is starting to get a little annoyed, but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. The outside of the house is done, the front yard and driveways are done, and the back yard has been groomed for grass. There was rumor that the owners sold the house, but that fell through as it was said to be a scam artist trying to buy. I don't know why someone would spend 4 years building a house and then let it go unless it was financial. Who's to know if they will move in, or put the house on the market. It's every bit as big as yours.

Anyway, what a wonderful family neighborhood you will have one day. :) That first house is my favorite. My children would fight over who gets which house. lol

Gorgeous home and sounds like a wonderful family. I spent many years living in downtown Chicago and loved it so much I swore I'd never move back to the suburbs. Well sure enough DH and I ended up back in my old home town, and it has been such a blessing to be near my folks. They love having their grandkids nearby and we love being near them too. It sounds like you have made it easy for your kids to follow a similar path if they choose. Good for you!

Actually our house (the brick one) is too big for us now that our kids are grown up. Three are still with us. In a bit we will start building a house/home for ourselves, all one floor but big engough for grandkids sleepovers and our big Italian get togethers, with a garden. The brick house will broken up into several units for rental.

I am so envious of you, Judiegal! We've talked about doing something similar with some of our kids, and I have great fantasies about it. In fact, your houses and garden almost make me feel like you've been privvy to my thoughts! Let's see: I'm Italian, we have six kids (3 and 3), I grow tomatoes (though only a few, but my dad grew hundreds) and peppers....

With the job situation the way it is, though, it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon for us, but I can dream!

I hope your kids come home, and I hope mine do, too. What fun, eh! And what a fantastic "family compound."

Sherry

Oh my! All that work and now you are going to do it all over again. YIKES! I find this thread fascinating! Of course, I realize that your new plans will be a few years down the road, but it will be interesting to see how you will break up the house into several rental units. Wouldn't you have to make sure they all have kitchens? One thing for sure, the renters would have beautiful outdoor spaces.

Would the rental houses also have access to the pool and grounds?

DH built with future rental options when we move out. The walls are several ft thick Cement block metal studs insulation brick, even the inside walls are cement block under the sheetrock plaster. We have six h/ac units already, plumbing is all set for kitchens and laundry rooms, and central vac. DH thinks ahead and does everything BIG. Thank goodness he has a great memory, because I sure don't! There is so much you don't think of when you buy a house already built. I learned so much while building this house and the new street and houses. We had to start from scratch, the road, street lights, gas, electric, 3 different cable company choices, landscaping, sidewalks the list goes on and on. Even naming the street, we had to submit 3 choices. I'm glad they let us have our first choice. Sorelle (sisters in Italian). At first we jumbled up their names but couldn't come up with anything. My DH wanted our last name, but I thought that was too cocky.

That's amazing!!!

Newhomebuilder, I find this thread fascinating, too! And to think for the longest time I never opened it because I thought it was something I would not be interested in.

Judiegal, God Bless you and your large, wonderful family. I think it is just lovely. This coming from someone who is an only child and has no children...and I don't particularly even care for hubby's family. HA! I've many times wished I were Italian....if only for the pasta. HA again!

And can I just say...to the real point here, good grief at all those tomato plants!!! And oh, oh...the canned ones. A thing of beauty to behold. My beloved father lived to 92 years of age enjoying his vegetable gardening. He couldn't do it the last two to three years of his life as he lost his sight, but in his 80's he had just as many tomatoes and such as you that he loved and cared for. His favorite was the Super Fantastic tomato. Me, at the present, I have three tomato plants and think I'm doing good to take care of them.

Thank you so much for sharing your pictures...enjoyable indeed!

pup

Judie - Your story reminds me of so many families in South Philly. It's a very strong Italian neighborhood and as the children grow up and marry they start looking for houses in the neighborhood that they can buy. Many times the houses are sold before they even go to a realtor.

Your home is beautiful!

Boston is 20 mins. away?! Wow!

I was already impressed with the houses you built for your DD's, not to mention your own. But when I read how close you are to Boston I was blown away.

My DH commutes from our home in NH to Boston 2-4 times a week. We considered moving closer when our kids flew the nest, but property values there for a home similar to the relatively modest one we have were through the roof.

We have relatives from southern states who have beautiful, large homes on lots of land. They cost a fraction of what they do here in the Northeast.

It was interesting to read the story of how you came to have such a big and beautiful home. You and DH have worked very hard for it.

Thanks for sharing the pics & your story. Best to you & your family!