Twin Home Basics: How Coral Breeze's Homes Work

A twin home is two homes built side by side and joined by one shared wall. Each home has its own front door, its own yard and, at Coral Breeze, its own garage. Lennar's Solea Collection at Coral Breeze is built as twin homes. This guide explains what a twin home is, how it differs from a duplex and a townhouse, and what to ask before you buy one.

What Is a Twin Home?

Miami-Dade County looked at twin homes in a 2020 research report. The report came from the Office of the Commission Auditor, dated January 6, 2020. It says, "Twin homes are joined vertically by a party wall at the common property line."

A party wall is a wall the two homes share. "Joined vertically" means the wall runs from the ground up, so one home is beside the other, not on top of it.

The report also describes each side this way: "Each unit has its own front and rear entrances, front and rear yards, and a side yard on one side of the lots."

So you get many things a single-family home gives you. You just share one wall.

You can read the county's full twin homes research report on the county website. It is a research report, not a law or a rule.

Twin Home vs Duplex

People mix these up all the time. Here is the difference the county report draws:

A twin home has two homes on two separate lots, joined at the property line.
A duplex, the report says, is "two single-family structures, sharing a common wall, on a single lot, owned by a sole owner."

A Minnesota state fact sheet on building codes makes the same point. It says a two-unit townhouse is sometimes called a twin home, and that a twin home usually sits on two separate lots, while both units of a duplex sit on one lot.

The big idea is ownership. With a duplex, one owner usually owns both sides. With a twin home, each side can be owned by a different person. Rules vary by place, so ask the sales team how the lots are set up at Coral Breeze.

Twin Home vs Townhouse

Merriam-Webster defines a town house as "a usually single-family house of two or sometimes three stories that is usually connected to a similar house by a common sidewall". Townhouses often come in rows of three, four or more.

A twin home is a pair. There are only two homes in the building. That means each home has three open sides instead of two. More open sides can mean more windows and a side yard.

For a broader look at home types, read how condos, townhouses and single-family homes really differ. And if you want to compare with Lennar townhomes nearby, see the Aria Park townhome plans in Homestead.

Why Twin Homes Are Less Common Here

The county report says, "There are a variety of reasons why twin homes and duplexes are not common in South Florida." The report lists zoning and other local factors. So if you have not seen many twin homes for sale around Homestead, that is part of why.

When we searched for twin homes for sale in Homestead, most results were townhouses or multi-family listings. Coral Breeze is a new-build option where Lennar uses the twin home name.

The Twin Homes at Coral Breeze

Lennar says the Solea Collection "offers new, spacious twin homes with impact-resistant windows and one-car garages". Lennar lists the home type as multi-family on its site, which is how it groups attached homes.

There are two Solea plans:

Plan	Size	Bedrooms	Baths	Garage
Sonora	2,345 sq ft	4	3	1-car
Marin	2,356 sq ft	4	3 full, 1 half	1-car

Both are two stories, with an owner's suite and balcony upstairs. The Sonora has a bedroom downstairs. The Marin has all four bedrooms upstairs. See the Sonora and Marin room by room.

Twin Home, Duplex, and Townhouse Comparison.png

What each Coral Breeze twin home gets

Based on Lennar's features list for the Solea plans:

Its own front entry and covered porch, per the floor plans
Its own one-car garage
A 6-foot wood shadowbox privacy fence in the rear yard
Brick pavers on the driveway, walkway, entry and rear patio
Impact resistant glass windows

The fence matters in a twin home. It marks your yard from your neighbor's. Read what the Coral Breeze shadow box fence is like.

Twin Home Pros and Cons

Pros

Your own front door, yard and garage
Only one shared wall, not two
No neighbor on the other three sides
At Coral Breeze, the four-bedroom twin homes start lower than the four-bedroom single-family homes Lennar lists at nearby Sunstone

Cons

You share a wall, so sound and shared repairs are things to ask about
The yard is usually smaller than a detached home's
Work on the outside of a shared building can affect your neighbor, so read your documents

Ask the sales team how the shared wall is built, who repairs it, and what the documents say about the outside of the building.

What the County Report Found About Building Them

The county report asked whether twin homes face special rules here. It says the county's building department told researchers that "building a twin home is no different than constructing a" townhouse or duplex. The report also says the Office of the Commission Auditor found no law or rule standing in the way of twin home building in Miami-Dade.

So a twin home is not an odd or risky building type. It is a normal home type that is just less common in South Florida.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Twin Home

Does my home sit on its own lot, and where is the lot line?
Who fixes the shared wall if it is damaged?
How is sound handled between the two homes?
Who takes care of the roof over both homes?
What insurance do I need, and does it cover the shared wall?
Where exactly does my fence line run?

Get the answers in writing. They will help you compare Coral Breeze with a townhouse or a detached home fairly.

How Coral Breeze Compares

If you are weighing a twin home against a single-family home, see how one Lennar community in Palm Beach County handled the same choice in our twin home vs single-family guide from Arden.

And to see what else Lennar builds around Homestead, read the Lennar Homestead comparison.

Price

Lennar's starting prices put the Coral Breeze twin homes in the high $400,000s. Call 561-704-0091 for today's numbers.

Common Questions

What is a twin home?

A twin home is two homes joined by one shared wall at the property line. A Miami-Dade County research report says each unit has its own front and rear entrances and its own yards.

Is a twin home the same as a duplex?

Not quite. The county report says a duplex sits on one lot with one owner. A twin home has two homes on two lots, so each side can have its own owner.

Is a twin home a townhouse?

It is close. Some codes call a two-unit townhouse a twin home. The main difference is that a twin home is only two homes, so each has three open sides.

Are the Coral Breeze homes twin homes?

Yes. Lennar calls the Solea Collection homes at Coral Breeze twin homes. The Sonora and Marin are both two-story, four-bedroom plans.

Do Coral Breeze twin homes have a garage?

Yes. Lennar lists a one-car garage for both Solea plans.

Who owns the shared wall?

That depends on the lot lines and the community documents. Ask the sales team and read your purchase documents before you sign.

See a Twin Home in Person

A twin home is easier to understand when you stand in one. Call 561-704-0091 or arrange a tour of a Coral Breeze twin home. You can also explore the Coral Breeze twin home plans.