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- Wayne Brown, "SDMortgagefinder"
- Contributions:1433
tibet71
One thing you need to get clear is condo vs townhome. A condo gives you right only to the airspace. A townhome or sometimes called PUD is where you own the land as well as the airspce.
As far as the pros and cons, it would depend upon your affordability issues. Certainly a sfr or regular house would be more desireable and in most cases appreciate more. You also have to look at the amenities And restrictions placed on your in the developments CC&R's.
Hope this helps.
Merry Christmas
- Alan May
- Contributions:4377
Planned Unit Development (PUD)
A project or subdivision that includes common property that is owned and maintained by a homeowners' association for the benefit and use of the individual PUD unit owners.
I've never heard of a "townhome" referred to as a PUD... it can certainly be a part of a Planned Unit Development. There are plenty of townhomes (rowhouses) on the eastern seaboard that were built in the 17 and 1800's and I doubt they were built as part of a PUD.
"single family homes appreciate more..." Sometimes it seems zillow is just a platform for realtors to expose their shamefull stupidity and ignorance...
NO type of housing can appreciate more then another type over the long run, not condos, not homes, not rental prices...
If homes appreciated more then condos over any length of time, then condos would eventually be basically free...
If a condo is worth half of what a home is in an area, it is likely to be worth half of what homes are in that area 10 years from now too... They don't always appreciate the same each and every year, but over the long run, to anyone who has any ability to think, it is clear that they will...
- 2 Big 2 Fail
- Contributions:0
That is wrong azrob. IN NYC, condos appreicate MORE than co-ops. Please view the following report and correct your ignorance:
In the 3Q 2007, co-ops appreciated 2.8% while condos appreciated 9.2%.
Manhattan Market Overview 3Q 2007
- 2 Big 2 Fail
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- Walters Consulting
- Contributions:1661
A condo gives you right only to the airspace. A townhome or sometimes called PUD is where you own the land as well as the airspce.
- 2 Big 2 Fail
- Contributions:0
From the same report:
Co-op prices slipped 2.8% from the previous quarter while condos appreicated by 8.5% from the prior quarter.
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
I have never wanted to pay the condo fees since I don't think that they are deductable. Also, I have run into many condos that will not allow you to rent it out if you cannot sell or are temporarily relocating. the last numbers I saw seems to suggest that single family homes appreciated better over time, but that may be different now after the market boom in condos.
- Angelique01
- Contributions:2031
My humble opinion:
Pros for townhouse:
1. They're sometimes more affordable than single-family houses; so you can get more for your money.
2. The HOA maintains the grounds. The costs can include things like earthquake insurance.
Cons:
1. You don't have much real land to speak of as you would with a house.
2. Your neighbors are likely to be very close to you.
3. In my area the prices of townhouses drops faster than single-family houses.
Condos: I'd only consider one if it were beautifully built because they don't include a garage, you're neighbors are very close, and you're only buying air space.
- Angelique01
- Contributions:2031
I forgot that another con for condos and townhouses is that you do have to deal with an HOA, and the costs can be completely out of your control. You may also not agree with the HOA and be stuck with their rules and regulations.
- Alan May
- Contributions:4377
There are townhomes in our area that area fee-simple (no HOA), and each owner is responsible for their own. All they share is a wall.
- Callista, "warriorprincess"
- Contributions:681
"1. They're sometimes more affordable than single-family houses; so you can get more for your money."
I don't find this to be the case. Condos charge association fees that seem way out of whack for what you get in return, making them no cheaper than detatched housing. I went to an open house at a condo downtown, and they wated 400$ a month in fees. For What?!!! There was nothing around but concrete! No pool to maintain, no spa, what in the h*ll do all those association dues get spent on?!!
- Walters Consulting
- Contributions:1661
I own/live in a Town home. $380 a month for HOA fees. Seems high but it is nice not having to deal with gardening and pool/spa. Only share one wall and it’s mainly the attached garages that are connected. I think these homes serve the no or small family the best.
- Terri Linnell, "DebtsNMesses"
- Contributions:6728
HOA's right now are a con. They are having trouble making their payments due to the amount of vacant homes. Banks are not paying them.
- tibet71
- Contributions:130
380 hoa? wOW...THAT A LOT!!!!
- Robin Lynch, "robin398"
- Contributions:1935
Pros:
Exterior maintenance and repairs are kept to a minimum.
You do not have neighbors above and below you like in an apartment.
There is more sense of security when the townhomes are attached.
Cons:
Paying dues to an HOA
Little privacy than a detached single family home.
There are limitations if you want to make exterior changes to your property
- Jeri, "Aratinga"
- Contributions:436
A major con that hasn't been mentioned yet is lack of adequate parking in most condo/townhouse communities. Each unit may come with a one or two car garage, but other parking spaces are often limited in number and restricted in use (ie, no overnight parking, visitors-only, etc).
We have three cars and live in a condo with a one-car garage. Other units here have two car garages, but most residents fill their garages with boxes of their crap and then take up the few common parking spaces or street spots with their cars! It's a major pain finding a place to park if I come home after about 7PM.
I am always surprised when realtors quote physical differences between condos/townhomes/apartments...
I can buy an apartment building and convert it into either of the other two... Recently, weveral condo projects abandoned sales, set up rental offices and decided to be apartments...
townhomes and condos are legal distinctions in how you hold title... You cant look at the unit and decide based on what you see "no neighbors above or below" etc...
- Angelique01
- Contributions:2031
I had no idea, Rob. There's lots of condos and townhoses around here. The "condos" have mostly underground parking; the "townhouses" have garages.
I lived in a modern (built in the 90's) townhouse in Maryland and had a very good experience. My development was probably what you would call a PUD. We paid an HOA fee of about $75/month, which included trash & common grounds maintenance. We owned an end-unit, so we shared one wall, and we had a very good relationship with our connected neighbor.
In brief, our experience was as follow...
* Yard maintenance was our responsibility, and we could landscape as we pleased, as long as it complied with the HOA guidelines, which were no more restrictive than any other convenanted SFH neighborhood in town. In fact, the previous owner had established a pretty good vegetable garden, and we had a couple peach trees, a cherry tree, & a blackberry hedge that provided us with lots of excellent produce in the summer months.
* We were responsible for both interior & exterior repairs, including roofing. While we owned the place, we had to replace some trim around the windows that had started to rot. We also touched up the exterior paint.
* We had a one-car garage, and we could park our other car on the driveway or in a public space outside our building. It was never a problem.
* Snow removal for the streets was covered by the HOA, but we shoveled our own driveways.
* There were lots of young families, and the kids got along great. Except for the fact that our house was three stories tall, I found it no different than living in a SFH.
All in all, I loved living in that neighborhood, and would absolutely consider living in a townhouse again.
BTW, historic rowhouses in Baltimore often come with ground rent dating back a couple hundred years. There was a lot of press a couple of years ago (Baltimore Sun) about ground rent owners seizing houses for non-payment. It got very ugly, and I think it even led to new state legislation regarding the issue.
Rob, it is true that is the way you hold title; however, if you see a high rise condo building, you can safely assume it's a condo and you only own the air space. Where it gets tricky is some of these developments that look like townhouses, but you still only own from the drywall in.
- Angelique01
- Contributions:2031
I learn so much on Zillow.
- plarusa
- Contributions:861
Condos charge association fees that seem way out of whack for what you get in return, making them no cheaper than detatched housing
I am no sure about that. Being an owner of both homes and condo, I think the cost is a wash. Here is an example for a condo,
Building maintainance (do u. know how much a new roof can cost?)
Landscaping maintaince (including pool, Jacuzi, common area..)
Trash
Water
Insurance
cost: $360/month
I think the price is justified.
- Walters Consulting
- Contributions:1661
360 a mo. is not that bad when looked at that way. I here storys of 700 plus per mo. in some of the more ritzy developments.
The townhome I have is an end unit and most of the 50 units are owner occupied so its nice and quiet here. also the my one car attacthed is a converted bonus/media.junk room with a drive way that fits the car along with the one assigned right out the front door,
I love the town home but would rather have the big sprawling modern living home with long palm line drive with out door lighting landscaping and privacy.... but hey thats just me!
- 2 Big 2 Fail
- Contributions:0
"A major con that hasn't been mentioned yet is lack of adequate parking in most condo/townhouse communities. "
In NJ, the law requires there to be 2 parking spaces per unit. The condo building down the street from me is going to have vallet parking for the owners when it is completed. Oh boy, were moving on up!
- caliguy
- Contributions:1283
"In NJ, the law requires there to be 2 parking spaces per unit. " Wow that would be nice out here - I always shake my head when I see 2-bedroom units with one parking space. As if people in So Cal who can afford a 2-bedroom place only have one car? Ridiculous.
There is 1 rental townhouse complex that has 2-car garages in all of its units (1 br + den and 2-br units). That move was genius.
Townhouse Pros and Cons?
Beside the cons of HOA, common wall....can you give me some cons and pros of buying a townhouse?
Thank you
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