How do you find the front of your house?

So you support my wifes side then.

You should have received a copy of the house plat at settlement. Look through your closing documents. The front of the lot is indicated on there.

If you do't have a copy you can probably get a copy from the county Clerk of the Court, Land Management or similar.

The front of the house is the side facing the street that the address is on.  

I get this a lot when designing a house for permits.  The home owner thinks the front should be the nicest side or the side they would take a picture of (which is usually in the back w/ the view) but the town wants the plans w/ the side facing the street to be labeled as front

I would just move.

Win. I have a confusing corner lot for sale, you interested?

Legally, I agree with Its Only Money: both are probably "fronts" for the purposes of the Code, which makes sense for the reason gearboy cites.

But semantically: the front is where the address is.

Well, stop walking around the yard nekkid, and you won't need so much privacy!

I'm guessing the fence rule is for corner visibility so as has already been mentioned both sides are probably fronts in that regard.

If you were to put a 10 ft. tall privacy fence along one side and a 48" fence on the other it would still obstruct the view for people on the corner so I'm guessing they'd come after you, parade you in front of the news media, throw you in jail, etc...

Its too hard to tell from the data provided. 

Begin by removing the address numbers and see if there is a note on the back (part that is against the house) to see if there is a note in small print saying "This side to house" or "Reverse side to street" If this is not present proceed with caution as someone removed the tag without authorization, we all know the trouble that causes.  Next remove all siding on house to find a simular tag, stamp or note that will define what side is the front.  Once you find it then you will know what side is the front of your house.  Point and announce I TOLD YOU SO to your significant other and add victory dance for effect.

Happy to help.

I'll be honest. The main reason for this inquiry is I don't want a 6' privacy fence. She does. If the law says we can't have one I'll be doing the pointing and dancing in my head while pretending to be sad that we can't have a privacy fence.

It doesn't really matter...  They don't care about your HOUSE in cases like this (I design subdivisions for a living).

It's what's considered the front of the LOT.  And that is the side you are addressed off of.  It doesn't matter how the house is oriented.  They are more concerned about how the fence or wall is seen/works with the neighborhood, not your house.

I design plenty of large lots where the house is turned at every odd angle to the street.

If you don't like it that way, you could easily bring it in front of the HOA and express your concerns.  They may to give you a variance.

What if your houe is lakefront???