Is like/dislike of townhomes regional/generational

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2013 8:20:44 GMT -5 @cookiemonster03 said:

Feb 6, 2013 6:03:04 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I'm in NJ burbs and townhouses are really popular for the reason mx stated- they are 250-350k instead of 500k.

Plus I live in an area with a lot of big pharma companies and people living here temporarily. They're easy to rent out and sell quickly.

A lot of retirees choose to live in them as well.

Unfortunately we do have an HOA, which is our biggest gripe.

I think this is pretty related to the big pharma in your area. I live further north, but about 15 miles from NYC (there are a lot of new condos closer in) and townhomes are fairly rare around here + as expensive if not more than SFHs.

Yeah, the townhouses by my ILs are brand new and cost as much as their house (in Essex County). I couldn't believe it!

I think there is a lot of pharma and other big corporations in much of NJ that make my situation true in other counties, though. Maybe not true north NJ (I consider myself central) but in much of the state.

[Noblegirl]

Feb 6, 2013 9:38:38 GMT -5 kwynn said:

Feb 6, 2013 8:50:24 GMT -5 Noblegirl said:

I'm in the Pittsburgh area, and we're currently renting a townhouse while we build. My parents balked at townhouses too (although agreed that it was better than an apartment), but I grew up on a farm in a town without townhouses.

I do think they are harder to sell, but if your intent is to rent it out in the future, I think that they're easy to rent. When we were looking, there was definitely a shortage of rentals in the area (we also have a large dog which caused some issues).

Our particular townhouse was built in the 80's and tiny for a family of 4 with a large dog, but I have friends who recently built a townhouse and it's very large and nice. We haven't had any issues with the HOA--but our landlord deals with all of that. With that said, many of the developments in this area, townhouses or single family homes have HOA's so looking for a single family home won't necessarily solve that problem.

The townhouse isn't for us long term (we're building on 10 acres, so obviously we like our space), but I think it would be a great option for people looking for easy maintainance who don't require their own dedicated outdoor space for something like a large dog or an abundance of extra parking.

Hey, a fellow Pittsburgher!

I was curious as to where you are building and your opinion on neighborhoods.

My number 1 choices right now (based on school districts for rental/resale and property taxes) are, in this order: Norwin, Franklin Regional, Jefferson Hills, Bethel, South Park, Elizabeth.

Do you have any opinion on those areas? Or are you more in the Cranberry corridor?

Hi There!

We're actually west of the city out towards the airport (Robinson, North Fayette area).  We used to live slightly east of the city in West Mifflin, which was fairly close to Jefferson Hills, Bethel Park and South Park.  I'd be leary of Jefferson Hills and Elizabeth because they butt up agains Clairton--which is not a great area. And while Jefferson Hills was traditionally rated as a great school district, I feel that the area in general is going down hill.  The mall in that area has almost no stores left. 

Bethel Park and South Park have the buffer of Jefferson Hills between them and Clairton and I think those areas are pretty nice.  Depending on where you work, driving downtown could be a pain, but in the South hills you have the option to take the T into town.  I don't know anything about FR or Norwin. 

[awkwardpenguin]

We owned one and loved it, and would buy one again if it seemed the right decision. And I say that as someone who sold at a loss in a down market in Michigan. In our price range and neighborhood, a TH was what we could afford. And not having to deal with outdoor maintenance was great. Ours had a basement and an area behind it that could be a deck, patio, or small yard.

I'd definitely try to get a feel for the particular TH community. Ours was a mix of students, retirees, and young families. The HOA wasn't a big pain, but we did have restrictions on exterior paint colors and weren't supposed to store anything on our front porch.

I'd also say to check out what the TH values have been historically for the communities you are checking out. DW didn't know at the time she bought that THs in our complex were going down because of new TH development in the area. Buying in a newer TH community probably would have had slightly better resale value, but we had no problem selling - it was only on the market 11 days or something.

[halfpint]

I don't think regional, I just think urban vs. suburban or more rural. In Chicago, the TH next door to me was a 1.2 million dollar unit.

In the smaller city I moved to after that, there weren't the space constraints or HCOL, so there was an attitude of why buy a TH when you can get a SFH for not much more. They are hard to resell in this area. My dad called some of the new TH developments "the new trailer parks". Generally cheaply made, appealing to lower income because they could get new construction for a low price, and rather quickly turning to rental properties as the original buyers found they couldn't sell them.

If I lived in a densely populated area, I wouldn't think twice about buying a TH or row house if I could afford it!

[Deleted]

We know a couple who rushed into buying a town home in an isolated suburban development because they were engaged at the time and they simply had to own property (in NJ, there's a stigma against renting). Flash forward a few years later when they have a kid and are thinking of leaving NJ. They put it on the market, and was no interest, even when they lowered the price to a lot less than what they paid for it. They didn't think it was a big deal when they were rushing to buy property, but their residence is yards away from high-tension wires. (A lot of the developments have been shoddily built, in undesirable areas like flood zones and with high-tension towers running through them. )

Right now we're renting - back when we were looking for a house, we were adamant about not going the TH route, since our friends are now stuck in their home (sure, they could buy a better home and rent out the TH, but they're so strapped they'd have to sell the TH first before buying a new place). If we ever get back in the hunt, maybe we'll be open to town homes (since we hardly have time to keep our apartment presentable, maybe having a standalone house isn't best for us after all!) - it depends on the development.

[Deleted]

I live in upstate NY. We have a townhouse now, since DH bought it as a starter home. No HOA (original developer declared bankruptcy in 1980s and street reverted to city ownership, though a silly neighbor left the old contract in everyone's door a few years ago). Overall maintenance is very easy (some larger repairs coming up due to age). Townhouses are definitely not the norm in this town, but they have a decent resale value for starter homes or retirement/downsizing. Stairs are a PITA but do-able. It's typical in this area to want a 'real' home, with a standard yard and more bedrooms. We do plan to relocate for a better school district and play area for C compared to our street (steep hill. Otherwise I could be completely content here for the long term.

[lime]

I agree with the couple of posters that said it is more urban/suburban than regional.

We actually want to buy a condo. You can easily dump more than 1M into one of those here.

[niq]

I don't mind townhomes but they have downsides.

* Walking up and down three (or four in some cases counting the garage) floors can get tiresome.
* If the whole wall is shared, entertaining or even just being loud can bother your neighbors.
* I hate HOAs -- isn't this why municipal government is supposed to exist?
* Townhome construction here is all pretty bland
* A lot of the townhomes built here during the bubble have real problems -- they even passed legislation making it easier to sue the builders.

[MadamePresident]

I don't think there is any type of stigma against them here. At least I hope not since I live in one.

We have a tuck under garage that has a finished basement area, a fireplace, two huge master bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms. There is a neighborhood pool, and we are within walking distance of the elementary and middle schools. Our neighborhood also has single family homes and ranch condos. Our walls are pretty thick and we don't often hear the neighbors. We purchased it as a starter home. Its a great location and my husband was in school, so we didn't want to deal with outside maintenance.

The home next door is for sale and I've seen many different demographics of people go for a look. There was a young couple, a young single girl, two older ladies, and parents with two teen boys.

[Deleted]

My Mom has lived in a TH for 13 years.

She likes that she doesn't have any yard/snow/lawn upkeep. She has an " end" unit so she only shares one wall ( and has been so lucky her neighbor is quiet/ my mom is deaf in one ear.)

Assesments can suck, but she just went through a HUGE one ( 5 years almost 300 a month) and the improvements look great and have boosted the property value. She also loves that her complex is a safe place to walk at night ( unlike the Main St it is off of with no sidewalks) and the property values have risen. Units in her complex are easy to rent out, and sell quickly if well maintained.

[pitterwoo]

(idea) ygpm 

[goaskalice]

I live in the burbs of Portland, we have an urban growth boundary which means almost all new construction are town homes and condos. We own a TH and love it. We're both way too busy for maintenance right now, and I like that my HOA dues will cover siding, roof, and general upkeep.

We will probably own this for a long time, rent it out, and buy a SFH when we have kids that need more space to run around. But, that's at least 5 years down the line.

[magpie]

I agree that it is more urban/suburban. I don't even live in the most urban of cities, but there's a big difference in the town homes that are centrally located/walking distance to work/nightlife and the ones out in the suburbs. The new townhomes that are walking distance to these things, with high end finishings sell for about the same price as a small, fix up single family home in the same neighborhood. I can see why people buy them if they want the lifestyle.

When we were looking for a house, we didn't consider townhomes because we really wanted a yard/bigger outdoor space. My dad also advised me not to get a townhomes because he felt that they don't aren't as good as an investment. I'm not sure if that's because they are harder to sell or if that's just his old school train of thought.

[aspentosh]

Feb 6, 2013 2:53:32 GMT -5 kateross said:

I owned a TH back in my 20's.

Cons:
The biggest pet peeve is the HOA. And it can increase every year. If the association gets sued/don't have enough reserves, you would have to pay for the assessment fees. Do your due dilligence. Google the association, read the CC&R's, etc.

You also have limitations on what you can do with your house (paint colors, what you can put in your patio, etc.).

Shared walls, I learned; was not my thing.

Resale is definitely harder.

We have a large dog, and yard space is a must.

Pros:
I would not hesitate buying them again during retirement age because of the easy maintenance.

Price is attractive. And it's the norm in the HCOL places.

This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

We still have our TH and rent it out. When we put it up for rent, it had a lot of interest and rented quickly.

[Deleted]

If you plan to rent out your TH in the future, be aware that some HOAs restrict the percentage of units that can be rentals. (I don't know the details but think this has something to do with the ability of prospective buyers to obtain an FHA mortgage.) Our HOA restricts rentals to 20% of the units in our community.