The “get around” for the 4th floor was not having any 4th floor. and having the third story set back.
I’m confused on the side load garage/hard to park, unless I’m looking at something different. Which models?
Side load > front load x 1000
I don’t understand this. Aren’t basements, by definition, below ground? If they were above ground they’d be the 1st floor, wouldn’t they? That sounds like a 3 story house.
You don’t really have any control over whether the construction fits into whatever you think the style of the neighborhood should be, but I think you do have some recourse if the structure is too close to the property line. Structures are supposed to be set back from the property line by x number of feet. If the house crosses it, you can file a complaint. But just because the house towers over yours doesn’t mean they’re in violation. A local town had an issue like that with an apartment complex. The developer put the buildings right up to the line. But I think when the regs were written the board was thinking of homes, not 3-4 story apartment buildings. Neighboring home owners complained about privacy, but the developer wasn’t violating any regulations so they were allowed to continue. I think it makes all the surrounding properties look cramped and I wouldn’t want to live in any of them, but there they are.
I’d check the local regulations to make sure the owners aren’t violating any of them. I wouldn’t trust their current attitude either. They have plenty to gain by being nice if they’re violating the rules. If they’re not in violation, maybe speak to them about splitting the cost of a privacy screen. If they can see you, you must be able to see them to some extent too. They may want to maintain a little privacy.
I loathe houses with huge front garages. Makes them look like houses for cars, not people.
@cap garages that don’t front the street and the homeowner has to make a left or right turn into the garage, which is located on the side of the house. My experience has been that drivers have difficulty entering the side loaded garages, because the driveway and lot width are insufficient to make the turn into the garage w/o at least taking a couple tries at it. Just my opinion, but I do understand that garage doors tend to be ugly and architects try to minimize their impact to the design of the house.
This seems to be an exaggerated fear. We’re not talking here about public garages, but garages used by the residents who live in the houses with the garages. Don’t you think someone can learn how to get in their garage, after a few tries, even if it’s initially difficult? My house has a side load garage. Of course it is easy for me, because I’m riding a bike, but Mr. Fang and I have lived in this house for years now and it’s easy for him too.
Side load is easy. You just need to master a 3 point turn which every driver should know anyway. It’s the same principle as parking in a grocery or shopping center parking lot. Aesthetics aside, I actually find it preferable to a front loading garage because you don’t have to back out of a driveway which is more dangerous.
Another fan of side loaded garages. They are rare around here because lots are narrow. In our code a basement is not longer a basement and gets counted as a story if the first floor is 4 feet or more above average grade. So if the house is built on a slope or it’s 7 or 8 steps up to the front door I have to check. Some of the older 1920s houses have garage doors in the back yard. They are awful - you have a 75x100 lot that is entirely taken up by driveway. Hardly anyone actually uses these garages as garages any more. I agree that it’s safer not to back out into a busy street. Eons ago my parents put a little turnaround in their front yard so they could enter the street front first.
I live in a huge tear-down neighborhood. As I am on a corner lot, the house directly across from me and replicated my house was in terrible shape when a young family bought it. When they bought it and moved in, they had 2 children and and now they have four, three boys and one girl in a 3 bedroom house with one full bath and one half-bath. So they tore that house down and moved out for a year while a mega-mansion was built. My side neighbor with 3 grown children , one living with her, one in a neighborhood not far and one in Israel passed away suddenly although she had been on disability and on/off medical leave with various ailments so the two sisters quickly sold the house, one here and one in Israel and they had their brother, the one at home who was working as an adjunct instructor in math at a CUNY school while slowly getting his Ph.D, nice young man but somewhat lacking in social skills, clean out the house, dispose of the cars and he ended up moving to Israel also, apparently leaving his job and his Ph.D. program. So that house which was not in great shape was torn down, another mega mansion was built and at the moment unoccupied as the buyers, with five children and one on the way, decided to flip this house and bought a different house about 2 blocks away which will soon be torn down. The house next door yanked two old trees that bordered our property so now more sun will come in my backyard but they just put down sod and planted shrubs so although that will not block the sun from my backyard, it does partially block the view of their driveway which in the previous house was on the other side of the front door. This house is almost to the lot line of the house neighboring on the other side. My next door neighbor remodeled and expanded their house as when they moved in they were childless now they have five. They also took down trees that shaded my backyard as they needed place for giant wooden swing set/slide, trampoline, Little Tykes slide, basketball hoop, you name it. They also got a dog who is small and cute and thankfully does not seem to bark. Oh yes, they hope to buy our house soon so that they can tear it down and build a mini-mansion. Apparently there isn’t any problem with anyone in our town getting variances to do whatever they want.
I think I would feel the same way that you do so I can’t give you any advice except to suck it up and fall in love with your new neighbors and just accept what you can’t change. Either that, or you can move 
. We have a new “McMansion” home two doors down from our cottage and it makes all the cottages around it look like dollhouses, and it is not even a big home, it’s only two bedrooms (with front garage) single story but the roof is really high. I wasn’t happy to see the empty lot get purchased and built on but at least they are nice people so it could be worse. I guess.
Our friends say they have a house for sale on their street. People are reluctant to buy because there’s a vacant lot next to it and no one knows who will buy it or what mega-mansion will be built there and are understandably apprehensive. The neighborhood has homes in the 7-8 figure range! There are views but views can be blocked by huge homes.
My own personal choice is a detached garage, either off to the side or in the rear of the lot. But I have is what amounts to a side loaded garage. I find turning into the garage laborious or a PITA. But I’m a car aficionado and I have two nice cars in the garage. I’m very careful. Garages tend to be tight spaces, especially with today’s builder/architect and also when you use it for storage. Over the years, as many of us know, the stuff we store creeps up on the cars.
From my experience, in CA, most buyers would elect or buy a traditional style garage, where you drive straight in. Here in the SF Bay Area, there are cultural nuances as well. Certain cultures prefer the traditional style garage.
“My own personal choice is a detached garage, either off to the side or in the rear of the lot”
That wouldn’t be your choice if you lived in snow country. 
We live in a tropical environment and mostly are happy with our detached carport that preserves views for our picture window and great room.
I wouldn’t live in snow country. 
But, having said that, I’ve seen beautiful porticos/breezeways designed and built between house and garage. Also, I’ve seen homes built with the garages under the house too.
Agree with doschicos ! Our Chicagoland garage was at the back of the lot with a long skinny driveway. Snow blowing was a real problem because there was a very narrow strip of land between us and the neighbor, who was slightly uphill. Continual adjusting of the direction of blowing the snow. Backing out was a real problem because it wasn’t quite straight and if you didn’t do it exactly right you would either hit the magnolia tree or the front porch . I parked out front.
We now have a two car garage on a skinny alley but even if we could clear out all the boxes, it would be very tricky for both of us to get in and out. I park out front.
FYI DH has an Audi and I have a CRV. He can see what’s right next to and behind his car; me not so much.
“I’ve seen homes built with the garages under the house too.”
Ugh. Who wants to schlep groceries/stuff up a flight of stairs, especially people with young children or older people? Not the best for resale.
Our choice is a detached garage, too. That way, fewer Mr.'s “toys” end up in the house.
@HImom I love HI. I’d love to own real estate there. BTW, a buyer of that home could model a new home built on the adjacent lot, using a computer program, from various angles to help give the buyer of the home for sale now some level of comfort or not.