Buying A Home
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Townhouse - pros/cons?
My DH and I have begun the search for a home and will be putting ours on the market soon. We looked at a really nice townhouse a few weeks ago but I'm hesitant as I have never lived in anything but a single family home. If you live in a townhouse what are the pros/cons? Would you live in another townhouse?
We do have a dog and 3 year old so two of my cons were the fact that we'd no longer have a fenced yard to let the dog out and no longer have a yard for a swingset. TIA
Re: Townhouse - pros/cons?
In my area, townhouses were way overbuilt and so now they are going for very very cheap. They are always going to be less expensive than a single family home, typically, but it's really crazy how low they have gone. My mantra is always buy what you like, but please do consider if your area has too many townhomes and if this will be a problem when it comes to sell later.
I would also check to see how many of the townhomes are owner-occuppied, vs. rented. What are the community's financial and board statements? How active is the community? What is the occuppancy rate?
I too have a 3-year-old, and two dogs, and I would have a hard time living without a yard. I have friends who have a 3-year-old (but no dog) and for them, their townhouse allows them to live in-town vs. out in the burbs. They aren't bothered by the lack of room, one-car garage, etc. like I would be. I like my space!
Does your current single family home belong to an HOA? To me, the biggest differences between SFH and Townhomes stem from HOAs.
We live in a "detached" townhouse. No shared walls, but HOA managed and it's zero lot line, which means the south side of the house bumps up against the easement and we have no backyard.
TH pros:
Little maintenance, usually good community amenities (pool, etc), can get nicer finishes/larger size for less money than a comparable SFH.
Cons:
Shared wall(s), HOA controls what you do to the exterior and has other regulations (number of pets and size for example), property values fall more quickly and rise more slowly than most SFHs.
I wouldn't do it again. When we first got married we lived in a 1500 adorable cape cod. The basement couldn't be finished and there were zero closets. 4 years ago we moved into a twin( built in 1996 about 2100sq including the finished basement). The things that bother me, may only be MY pet peeves, but I'll tell them since you asked.
I grew to HATE the fact that all the houses in my neighborhood look the same. There is no HOA, so we are able to change our colors (which we have) but they still all look the same.ZERO curb appeal. Plus builders in our town are throwing up townhomes every where you look, so our value is creeping down. Our one car garage is so narrow that a passenger can't get into the car unless we pull out into the driveway. We do hear the neighbors through the wall. Plus I would love to have windows on all sides of the house for more light. I have 2 girls and a chocolate lab and am grateful for the decent yard that we have, but more room would be nice.
In hindsight, I wish we would have looked a bit longer before buying and bought a SFL even if it had a slightly smaller sf.
My BIL bought a townhome he is now looking to sell and he can't unload it to save his life. He doesn't qualify for a short sale and the property values are so low he can't afford to take a huge loss on it. But the problem is there are several other townhome developments nearby where the houses are never lived in and they keep dropping the price. He also had the problem PP mentioned where the "two car" garage couldn't fit two sedans.
It may also depend on the location you are in. I know that where my parents are, they have beautiful historical townhomes in a great neighborhood and those were highly desirable.
I currently live in a townhome, at the time I purchased it I was still single and it seemed like the best fit for me. Now that I am married and we are talking about having children soon it is no longer convenient for us. However, there are pros and cons to it, just like with everything. I am lucky that mine has a decent sized fenced in backyard (no room to put much out there but enough for my dog to run around in).
My biggest con over my townhouse is our HOA, the fees are very high (and we do not have a pool or tennis courts) but the main reason they are high is because it covers exterior repairs to the house. For instance last fall they fixed up our entire row of townhomes, replacing boards, etc. The big issue I had with that? Up until then each of the six units was a different color, allowing us a little personality (still all very neutral) and they wound up painting them all the exact same horrible green color and I had NO say in the color choice, I came home from work to find my house green! Part of that is just being an HOA, part of that is a very poor HOA management system. So just keep in mind that while you can do whatever you want to the inside, they will control the outside!
I came on the ask the same question!
thanks for the tips
We, too, love our TH. We have a large end unit with a garage. Living in suburban DC, a TH is a very normal "first home," since property in this area is very expensive. DH and I bought it knowing we could live in it forever if we wanted/needed to and can afford the mortgage and upkeep on one salary if something ever happened. We could not guarantee that if we had bought a more expensive SFH.
Our backyard is small, but we have a large deck that backs to a wooded lot that will give our son space to play (there are also two parks within a 2-3 minute walk). Our street is quiet and we have some side yard he can play in as well. We have our own driveway, pay a small HOA fee, and our community was built with repeating styles, but no houses are duplicated in the same strip (and they are different colors than others of the same style). Also, TH's in our neighborhood sell quickly (all in less than a month) and for list price or very close to it (within a thousand).
Our reasoning, aside from the price tag, for a TH was that we don't have time to maintain a large lawn. We are only responsible for the patch of grass in the front and side as well as our little back yard. That is perfect for us!
I would not count out a TH, just do your research and make sure it is something you are comfortable with. At the end of the day, whether a bunch of us love or hate TH living, what matters is what makes you happy.
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