We live in a townhouse. While we only recently bought the house, I've only lived in a single family home for 3 years out of my entire adult life so I have quite a bit of experience with this!
Pros: - We have an HOA that takes care of the shared area maintenance, so we are only responsible for our (small) yard, but still have a fair amount of trees, grass, a parking lot we don't have to shovel, etc that we benefit from. - We are a center unit, so we only have 2 exterior walls to maintain - this should save us a lot of money when it comes time to paint, replace siding, hire someone to powerwash the exterior, buy new windows/gutters, etc. - I have nothing to compare it to, but I assume this also will result in lower energy costs, especially in the winter, since we are insulated on 2 sides by other homes. - While it sucks having neighbors above/below you in an apartment, the two townhouses I've lived in have had pretty good noise control on the sides. I am surrounded by 5-6 children (one family recently moved in so I'm not sure how many kids are there) and I have never heard them at all. Occasionally we hear muffled banging or other sounds, I assume from hitting walls or hammering in them, but it's not loud so is an extremely minor annoyance.
Cons: - we are right on top of each other, which would be an issue if we wanted privacy or if our neighbors were jerks. So far I've been lucky and not had asshole neighbors. - Along with that, our deck is inches away from one of our neighbors' decks. They just moved in so it hasn't been an issue yet, but if they are the type to use their deck a lot, it will be really annoying and we may have to figure out some way to block off sight. Our other neighbors don't have a deck. - Because we have an HOA we can't make exterior changes without approval. Not all attached homes have HOAs, though - the last one I owned did not.
For us, it makes the most sense financially and with a small household we have no need for a huge house or large lot. Realistically we will probably always live in attached homes and I'm totally fine with that. I probably wouldn't be if it was a huge hassle! I get annoyed by noisy neighbors and rude people pretty easily.
Usually attached are less outside maintenance either because the property is smaller or because an HOA maintains it. Also they’re usually cheaper. That’s about it IMO.
It really depends on your neighbors. I’ve lived in quite a few townhomes. My last neighbors would play music at full blast first thing in the morning (getting pumped for work??). It was insanely loud and awful. I’ve lived in other townhomes with kids on both sides and never heard a peep.
I have lived in a single family home for the last 6 years and I wouldn’t go back to sharing walls unless it was the only option. We are actually moving into an apartment for a few months while our new house is being built and I’m dreading it. I don’t want to hear other people or smell smoke/weed. I don’t want to have to worry if my kids are disturbing the neighbors.
So I would look at single family first but I understand that housing is expensive and there aren’t a lot of options so you may need to be open.
Post by verycontrary247 on Aug 5, 2020 17:12:10 GMT -5
We have a 2100sqft 3 story townhouse in a fantastic area.
Pros: 1. Price- there's no way we could've gotten this kind of square footage for this price in this area in a single family home 2. Lower maintenance- as PP said you only have to maintain the front and back exterior 3. Ours does not have an HOA, which is an added bonus
Cons: **My biggest annoyance/complaint is the parking situation. 1. We've got a garage and a single car-width driveway that fits 2 cars, one behind the other. When we first moved in, E was driving a car with a manual transmission that I could not drive, and it was always a massive hassle to move the cars around depending on who was leaving when. 2. Because it's a bunch of tall skinny townhouses right next to each other, there is little to no street parking available if you ever want to have anyone over. People either have to parallel park at the end of our driveway and block us in, or park 3 blocks over where there is street parking and walk. 3. Neighbor noise is only an issue when they are outside. We've never heard them through the shared walls, but if they are outside in their backyard we can hear them. 4. It's a lot of fucking stairs to go up and down every day. Especially whilst pregnant.
I feel like with age my DH has gotten more and more annoyed with neighbors noise. At this point noise is maybe a control issue for him so any shared walls would be a problem for him especially because he works from home. So I vote single family if in the budget. There is more lawn care but our yard isn’t huge so it’s no more than 30 minutes a week to mow it. You would have to buy a lawnmower. I feel like the reason one might choose a townhome is they are usually cheaper and more prevalent if you like a city lifestyle but also has less maintenance. For example we didn’t have to shovel our townhome except the landing/ steps. But we do have to shovel sidewalks and driveway at our SFH.
My perception of attached homes is that they are generally seen as less valuable than SFH, which might be good if you're interested in one, but isn't as great for resale. They also generally have a HOA that takes care of the grounds and sometimes the exterior of the home (roof, siding). This can be good or bad depending on whether or not you're willing to pay for that. You should also consider whether they do assessments if there's a shortfall in the budget.
Otherwise, from a property perspective, there's not a lot of difference between the two.
I’m twitchy about noise so I would be very reluctant to live in a house with shared walls. But I know different housing markets may require different sacrifices. I’d rather sacrifice square footage or have a longer commute than share walls, but that may not be an option for your market, I don’t know.
Post by gretchenindisguise on Aug 5, 2020 17:37:32 GMT -5
We live in a townhouse (rented). My two issues are lack of storage because there are no basements in this area and small yards. We were ok with it until this pandemic and now I'm really wishing we had a bigger yard.
I think you can remedy those and still be attached. Actually sharing the wall doesn't add any problems for us.
@@ content: They have a baby next door, but our neighbors in KC could hear our baby too so - meh.
They tend to have fewer bedrooms, especially compared to total square footage. My parents live in one that is about 4,000 square feet, for example, but only has one bedroom in the main living area (there are two others on another floor). They tend to have everything essential on one floor and a fee that takes care of all the exterior. They aren't specifically for older adults but because of the cost and the layout and the HOA fees, they tend to be more popular among the retired set. They are so sought after in our area, my parents have had strangers approach them to buy their house several times.
Post by Jalapeñomel on Aug 5, 2020 17:43:15 GMT -5
Some things to think about where we live:
SFHomes under $500k but more than $400k that don’t require a complete kitchen remodel or major work (normally) have/are
*less than 2000 sq ft *Maybe 2 bathrooms, one might be a half bath *built before 1975ish *unlikely to have central air *oil tanks with baseboards *older windows *sloped, unfenced backyards (it’s very hilly here!) *45+ minutes (w/o traffic) from the city if you’re lucky *more expensive houses (closer to the half mil price point)are closer to the train, but not walking distance *$12000+ a year in property taxes (some have a star deduction for up to $2k) *many do not have garages
We are limited to some school districts as we do not want to live in a primarily white neighborhood.
Post by goldengirlz on Aug 5, 2020 17:44:37 GMT -5
FWIW, depending on the area, even SFHs can be problematic for neighbor noise. We hear our neighbors all the time because the lot sizes are pretty small. It also depends on construction. Older homes in NY are built pretty solid. In contrast, at least IME, the worst place is buy a townhouse — if you’re concerned about noise — would be new(er) construction in a state that doesn’t get cold, because they skimp on insulation.
ETA: Resale will also depend on the market. Something walkable to retail and public transit in a state like NY could sell for more than something off the beaten path.
FWIW, depending on the area, even SFHs can be problematic for neighbor noise. We hear our neighbors all the time because the lot sizes are pretty small. It also depends on construction. Older homes in NY are built pretty solid. In contrast, at least IME, the worst place is buy a townhouse — if you’re concerned about noise — would be new(er) construction in a state that doesn’t get cold, because they skimp on insulation.
Insulation has been a problem in all the houses we’ve looked at here. Our house is cold as hell with crappy windows.
However, we looked a new home that was built, and it was definitely put together fast and really shotty. I’d take my chances in my old ass home than that one.
SFHomes under $500k but more than $400k that don’t require a complete kitchen remodel or major work (normally) have/are
*less than 2000 sq ft *Maybe 2 bathrooms, one might be a half bath *built before 1975ish *unlikely to have central air *oil tanks with baseboards *older windows *sloped, unfenced backyards (it’s very hilly here!) *45+ minutes (w/o traffic) from the city if you’re lucky *more expensive houses (closer to the half mil price point)are closer to the train, but not walking distance *$12000+ a year in property taxes (some have a star deduction for up to $2k) *many do not have garages
So I’d want to do a comparison with attached homes. Do the attached homes have the opposite of all of that for the same price? Just some things? It’s really going to come down to your personal preferences on what your must-haves are and what your nice-to-haves are.
FWIW, depending on the area, even SFHs can be problematic for neighbor noise. We hear our neighbors all the time because the lot sizes are pretty small. It also depends on construction. Older homes in NY are built pretty solid. In contrast, at least IME, the worst place is buy a townhouse — if you’re concerned about noise — would be new(er) construction in a state that doesn’t get cold, because they skimp on insulation.
Insulation has been a problem in all the houses we’ve looked at here. Our house is cold as hell with crappy windows.
However, we looked a new home that was built, and it was definitely put together fast and really shotty. I’d take my chances in my old ass home than that one.
Newer windows make a huge difference!
My parents’ home was built during the housing bubble that predated the financial crisis. It’s been such a money pit for them. I guess all homes eventually have issues though. My 1950s home has survived numerous earthquakes but we’ve had to replace almost all of the plumbing and the electrical is shit. So it goes ...
SFHomes under $500k but more than $400k that don’t require a complete kitchen remodel or major work (normally) have/are
*less than 2000 sq ft *Maybe 2 bathrooms, one might be a half bath *built before 1975ish *unlikely to have central air *oil tanks with baseboards *older windows *sloped, unfenced backyards (it’s very hilly here!) *45+ minutes (w/o traffic) from the city if you’re lucky *more expensive houses (closer to the half mil price point)are closer to the train, but not walking distance *$12000+ a year in property taxes (some have a star deduction for up to $2k) *many do not have garages
So I’d want to do a comparison with attached homes. Do the attached homes have the opposite of all of that for the same price? Just some things? It’s really going to come down to your personal preferences on what your must-haves are and what your nice-to-haves are.
So we’d definitely get more square footage, central air and gas heating (or at least not radiators with an oil tank). Newer appliances and a much newer home (1985+). Commute would be the same for either, property taxes are cheaper, but you also have HOA fees.
Here let me show you two that are sold and you can get an idea.
We own a SFH and a townhouse. And before the SFH, another townhouse. Right now, we are in an end unit, which we bought for th bigger yard for the dog. The SFH is on 3/4 acre and it was just way too big to maintain without teenagers. We still tell the story about how we went house hunting one morning, came home by noon, and spent the next 8 hours working on the yard. Around 8:30 we sat down on the porch, cracked open a beer, and looked at each other and said “townhouse.” I love that it takes us 20 minutes to mow the yard with an electric mower!
That said, we are currently casually looking to move to a SFH. I was a kitchen with more than 2 linear feet of counter space and H needs a garage or workshop. I love our neighborhood, and I like this house. But it’s time. I’m also sick of the stairs (3 level). I would love one of those villas discussed above, but here they are only for 55+, and we are 9 years too young. But we only need about 1800 sq ft, 2 bedrooms. So we may end up in a too big house.
We own a SFH and a townhouse. And before the SFH, another townhouse. Right now, we are in an end unit, which we bought for th bigger yard for the dog. The SFH is on 3/4 acre and it was just way too big to maintain without teenagers. We still tell the story about how we went house hunting one morning, came home by noon, and spent the next 8 hours working on the yard. Around 8:30 we sat down on the porch, cracked open a beer, and looked at each other and said “townhouse.” I love that it takes us 20 minutes to mow the yard with an electric mower!
That said, we are currently casually looking to move to a SFH. I was a kitchen with more than 2 linear feet of counter space and H needs a garage or workshop. I love our neighborhood, and I like this house. But it’s time. I’m also sick of the stairs (3 level). I would love one of those villas discussed above, but here they are only for 55+, and we are 9 years too young. But we only need about 1800 sq ft, 2 bedrooms. So we may end up in a too big house.
This probably isn’t helping or responsive.
All of this is helpful to me. I need as many opinions I can get!
I hate sharing backyard space or feeling like everything I do in my backyard is right next to someone else. It's even trickier with dogs. And I know I would eventually have neighbors that drove me crazy, though I do now in my SFH. But at least I'm not sharing walls with them? Probably not helpful! I've also never considered buying a 2000+ sqft house for our family of 3, my house is from 1924, and we don't have central air either, so those things don't appeal to me I know they can be deal breakers for others though
So I might do a duplex (one shared wall) in exchange for updated bathrooms/kitchen and central air. It’s all give and take. Home buying is such a bitch lol
I hate sharing backyard space or feeling like everything I do in my backyard is right next to someone else. It's even trickier with dogs. And I know I would eventually have neighbors that drove me crazy, though I do now in my SFH. But at least I'm not sharing walls with them? Probably not helpful! I've also never considered buying a 2000+ sqft house for our family of 3, my house is from 1924, and we don't have central air either, so those things don't appeal to me I know they can be deal breakers for others though
I’m currently sitting in a brown out with no air from the window units, so a community pool and central air sound like a million bucks to me right now. Lol
I hate sharing backyard space or feeling like everything I do in my backyard is right next to someone else. It's even trickier with dogs. And I know I would eventually have neighbors that drove me crazy, though I do now in my SFH. But at least I'm not sharing walls with them? Probably not helpful! I've also never considered buying a 2000+ sqft house for our family of 3, my house is from 1924, and we don't have central air either, so those things don't appeal to me I know they can be deal breakers for others though
I’m currently sitting in a brown out with no air from the window units, so a community pool and central air sound like a million bucks to me right now. Lol
Oh, yeah that would be pretty awesome in those circumstances!! We rarely have issues with our window units, but I was thinking last night how miserable it would be if we lost power in the storm.
I lived in apartments most of my life and I would never buy anything that had me sharing a wall with someone. My husband had an attached house and feels the same. My brother also has one with a very small yard. You walk out onto a deck and then there's stairs down to grass. It's close enough to be really awkward, with both the people in the houses in his row but also the people on the block behind him whose yards all back up to them. Now my brother has a smoker, which must be really enjoyable for everyone around him.
I lived in a middle unit TH for just over 5 years. Apart from an asshole neighbor the first 1.5 years we lived there our neighbors were quiet and nice.
Pros: no lawn outside maintenance HOA took care of roofs, siding as well no real outside space of our own two story for noise separation
Cons: neighbors so close not a ton of guest/extra parking in a high traffic area/directly off of a busy road very little usable shared outside space gated community with code
For us a big pro when we first moved in turned into con (no real outside space) with our DS getting older, our priorities changed and of course the pandemic. We really want to be as green as possible and HOA wouldn't allow for solar panels & the garages were so small that getting a good set up for an EV charging spot in your garage wasn't viable. We want to be able to compost our food. Also we want a fenced yard for our DS. For me personally, I hate stairs. Hate. OMG. I'm do glad to be done with them! I'm so done with a gated community too. It's so annoying! My guests had a hard time making the code work, it slowed me down leaving and coming. Ugh. We moved to my hometown and we're renting a duplex with a small fenced yard while we sell the TH. It's amazing here with all the usable outside space! We have 84 less sq ft inside but the layout is really good so we're pleased (even H who loves 2 story houses). Throughout this process of moving, selling our TH & touring houses we have found that layout is more important than sq ft for us.
Post by lovelyshoes on Aug 5, 2020 18:54:47 GMT -5
You’re in NY, attached is normal. My preference is one wall attached, a double house sort of speak sharing one wall. You pay a little less to heat it. The down side is if something needs to be fixed like siding or roof stuff, you’ll fix your side and have to rely on the neighbor to actually fix theirs. Lots of homes have one half updated while the other half looks bad. Same for fence stuff sometimes. You’re also closer to the neighbor. I think it’s mostly nbd. The inventory is so low now and everyone is fleeing the city. I hear that things are going well over asking and don’t sit more than a few days on the market. I saw a house a week ago and they wanted best and final offers within 24 hours.
Eta, I just read the replies and this is not what nyc attaches homes are like. You won’t have an hoa unless you’re buying a condo/townhouse. All back yards are small and near your neighbors.
We lived in a townhouse in a row, homes on each side. I will never ever do it again. I hate HOAs. I didn’t want to buy one, and regretted it every day. Maintenance goes up whenever they want it to, it’s the worst. I hated having neighbors on both sides. One was great, one a nightmare who complained about everything. Your attached homes won’t be like that. A neighbor on one side is nbd at all.
When we were searching for our current house we looked at both SFH and Townhomes (where we would only share 1 wall) so we could live in the area we wanted at a price we could afford. Honestly if the townhouse has a small yard, good layout and privacy I would have no problem going with that.
Post by SusanBAnthony on Aug 5, 2020 19:29:28 GMT -5
I think the SFH you posted is cute. The kitchen is old but meh. It worked for 50 years.
But I live in a 1600 foot ranch with 1.5 baths that cost 330k so that house seems reasonable to me.
We like having a yard although I wouldn't want a huge one. We like not sharing walls. New is not important to me. However I've heard oil heat is $$$$ so it does seem worth factoring that in.