Buying A Home
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Anyone ever look into buying a Townhome?
My FI and I are looking into buying a house. However, with many complications of low inventory in the housing market in our area we are going to start looking at a brand new Townhome. They are absolutely beautiful, huge, and as I said brand new.
My question is, if you looked into a Townhome did you decide to buy it? If not, why?
Any advice or insight would be great! thanks!
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Re: Anyone ever look into buying a Townhome?
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We considered it (there are some very nice ones where we are) but ultimately decided against it. Our deciding factors:
- as pp said, they don't appreciate in value as much as a single family can
- some of them come with VERY high HOA fees. This is what I would be most wary of in your case since at least where we are, the newer developments are the highest. We saw one community where it was $450 per MONTH. HOA fees are not tax deductible.
- most of the ones we've seen only have a single car garage which DH is opposed to
- there tends to be a lot of turn over in them, so when you go to sell you will almost definitely have competition
I would agree with PP about the shared walls and lack of private yard space. But, I have been in very many beautiful new townhouses and if we didn't have dogs we would have definitely looked into those more.
I would only consider it if you are sure you could comfortably live there for a long time. A new development means that it will be longer before you could sell for what you paid since other people could just buy the new units rather than one someone has already lived in.
The big issue with a condo or townhouse is that people frequently buy them to avoid renting while saving for a single family home, but in the current climate you have to live there 10-15 years before you'll be able to sell for a profit and even then there's no guarantee. You'll have all the inconveniences of apartment living (shared walls, building shared with neighbors) without the convenience of calling management when something breaks.
So only buy if there's room for a future family (if you plan to have kids) and you're sure you can comfortably stay there long-term should the market not go up any time soon.
Not to mention the risk of special assessments.
Townhomes and twins (new/newer construction) are very popular around here. We have lived in our twin for 9 years now and are actually considering buying a twin again (although newer and larger).
We have never had any issues w/our shared wall with our neighbor. Shared walls now a days usually have concrete and other thicker materials to meet fire code and thus adds an extra level of soundproofing. I can only count 1 time that we heard our neighbor in the 9 years, and it was when she was banging a nail in the wall with a hammer (and was of course over in 3 seconds). Our backyard is split with a low fence which is perfect (most yards in our neighborhood are split with either a fence or some other privacy landscaping). I do not feel like we are lacking in any privacy.
Our HOA fees are low (under $40/year and have not gone up at all, not even $1) but that depends on how much is included. All of our exterior maintenance is up to us to do, and our streets are plowed by the township. The HOA fee only really covers electric for the neighborhood sign and mowing of the "common area" where kids play. You can find out how much it is and what it includes ahead of time. Sometimes they include trash pickup, a community pool/gym, etc.
One advantage of getting a townhome is that you can pack more upgrades into it for the price than you can get in a SFH. Most around here also do have 2 car garages as well.
I dont know, I dont see many disadvantages personally. You will know what you are getting into as far as pricing and HOA fees beforehand so not many surprises that I can see.
Cons: Shared walls (we never hear our neighbors), being in close proximity to your neighbors (something we'd deal with in our area in a SFH, too), potentially high HOA fees, people tend to rent their TH's when they upgrade (at least where we are) and (in my experience) the renters aren't as cautious or respectful of your space (our neighbor lets their kids run all over our yard), you may/may not have assigned parking/driveway
Pros: We got about 400 square feet (not including basement) more than we could have gotten in a similarly priced SFH, less lawn maintenance/upkeep (key for us, we do not want to spend time doing that stuff!), great pricetag, and, for us, a great location.
DH and I shopped specifically for a TH. They are super, super common in our area. We bought one with a driveway because we never wanted to worry about parking. I would highly recommend it if you can! The TH's across the street have open parking/no assigned spaces and it gets a little crazy over there sometimes.
pinterest
the first home I bought before I got married was a TH and I loved it.
No ext. maintenance.
Things to consider:
- an end unit is always more valuable.
-what is the firewall (adjoining wall) constructed of and does it go from roof-line to basement. This is for safety and noise.
-is there a HOA that limits the amount of rented united. You do not want a neighborhood of rented units
-what are the amenities of the neighborhood?
-unless it is a small development is there enough variety in the units. You do not want an army barrack look.
As for value, apprec. etc. It is anyone's guess. If you do not like the risk/gamble of the RE market, rent problem solved.
FWIW- my TH sold in one day and I had multiple offers. (it was an end unit)
Good luck to you.
I own a townhouse and have lived in them (except for about 3 years) since I was 5 years old (I'll be 30 this summer).
The common gripes like shared walls, close proximity to neighbors, etc really aren't something that you aren't going to realize on the way in. It's not like you'll go see a townhouse and be all "oh, well it's a nice house but I didn't realize the neighbors are so close".
There are a metric-schit-ton of townhouse developments in my area. When one goes up for sale, it's gone within a month unless it's in complete disrepair.
They seem to appreciate the same as a SFH around here. My mom bought her townhouse (2nd hand, not brand new) for $50k 25 years ago. It's worth roughly $120k now. That's not too shabby IMO.
Yes, HOA fees can be astronomical. They can also be really low. It all depends on the area and what the HOA includes. Ours are $25 per month. It includes commonground landscaping (not personal yards, just common areas), keeping neighbors in compliance, and use of the amenities (we have a pool, tennis courts, a basketball court, skate park, and 4 playground parks).
http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi#general
We just bought a townhouse at the end of last year, and I really like it so far. I live in a small beach town, the houses here are small old and expensive.
We didn't want to max out our finances, and I'm not willing to live in a teeny tiny shoebox. So we bought a townhouse.
It has a driveway, 2 car garage, 3 BR / 3 bath. smallish yard, but it fits my needs, and is probably the same size we would have gotten in a SFH, but for half the cost.
I never hear a peep from the neighbors through the walls.
Our HOA is $250 per month, but it covers all of the exterior maintenance, some of the utilities, some of the insurance, a pool and a hot tub that we don't have to maintain. It's pretty much the same amount of money we would have to spend or save every month to cover everything and save for things like replacing the roof. Paying that HOA every month leaves us with fewer surprises though.
So far I am very happy with our decision, and happy to not be house poor.
Thanks for everyones Feedback!
The one thing I forgot to mention that there is absolutely no HOA fee's and there never will be, which is one of the great selling features. Also, the townhomes are brand new and we would be the first owners. The townhome is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath. Absolutely beautiful! We went and saw them last night and I can't believe I'm ready to make a move!
Again, thanks for everyone's input!
We're Married!! And I couldn't be happier!