Carriage houses, outbuildings, and other secondary dwellings (excluding detached garages — see Detached Garages) fall under the Multi-Family Home Policy, with the following distinctions:
- Additional Order Determination: VMD defines "walking distance" as no more than 250 feet from the main dwelling, measured door-to-door. Lot size and acreage do not factor into this determination — a large parcel does not by itself make a secondary dwelling a separate order. Additional fees will apply if the secondary dwelling falls outside this distance. Please provide detailed information on the property before your appointment so VMD can provide you with an estimate.
- On-Site Time Safeguard: Regardless of distance, if travel between dwellings, or property features, on the same order causes total on-site time to exceed the standard time allotted for a single-family home of comparable size, the additional dwelling will be subject to an on-site time surcharge, at VMD's discretion.
- Billing: Additional charges may apply for photography and floor plan overages, consistent with standard multi-family billing.
- Additional Scoping: Any outside dwellings exceeding 1,000 square feet requires additional scoping prior to scheduling to confirm service time and billing.