What city in the USA ?
In some areas of the country home prices are slowly dropping. No doubt ongoing price reductions.
Townhome ownership
- Thread starter CarLuver
- Start date
What city in the USA ?
In some areas of the country home prices are slowly dropping. No doubt ongoing price reductions.
Yep. Typically roof replacement is the big expense or sometimes there's a design defect which gets expensive to remedy but that can happen with any home.
Or that don't get remedied because "it was built to code." One of those defects with that "solution" was why I sold my townhouse (and I disclosed that defect info to the new buyer because I didn't want anything to come back to haunt me).
Definitely, ask about any plans for major maintenance, which means a special assessment. A friend got this surprise about 6 months after she bought her place due to a pending roof replacement. If it's an existing association, ask for their financial statements.
Ya. Thankfully a lot of townhomes are classified as condos so Fannie Mae has been looking closely at the financials of these projects ever since the collapse in S. Florida.
However the rules have been loosened lately or so I've read.
I lived in a townhouse for about 22 years. First one for 7 years and the second much larger one on the same street a stones throw away for 15. We still own the second one and I'm on the HOA board despite not living there anymore.
As others have noted the details regarding the HOA rules & finances, ownership structure (some townhouses are basically condos ie the condo "owns" the structure, others like mine are not), parking situation, etc are very important and will vary by community so you cannot generalize.
Ours were built in the late 90s and had pretty substantial walls in between, in the second one we literally never heard a sound from our neighbors. Both were pretty well built, good community amenities, ample parking, etc. Still go back for trick or treating because our current SFH neighborhood is dead in that regard lol. Would recommend.
jeff
As others have noted the details regarding the HOA rules & finances, ownership structure (some townhouses are basically condos ie the condo "owns" the structure, others like mine are not), parking situation, etc are very important and will vary by community so you cannot generalize.
Ours were built in the late 90s and had pretty substantial walls in between, in the second one we literally never heard a sound from our neighbors. Both were pretty well built, good community amenities, ample parking, etc. Still go back for trick or treating because our current SFH neighborhood is dead in that regard lol. Would recommend.
jeff
Seattle area in the SE burbs . looking at Renton WA
I’ve lived in one for near 10 years now. Started here newlyweds . Now we have 2 kids and make it work.
Biggest pro for me is connection/community and easier to get friendly with neighbors in my experience. We have great people in ours and everyone treats everyone like family.
Downside is smallish back yard and HOA fees can be higher.
Luckily our townhome community is older, has a lake on property (we have a view of it), surrounded by trees and plenty of common grounds to walk around. It even has a pool. Some of the newer townhome builds look more like apartment complexes where they jam them in like sardines. I’m not a fan of the 3 story newer ones they build. 2 story is more appealing in my opinion.
Ours were built in 2002. Walls between units are 5/8” drywall on 2x4 studs on 5/8” drywall. Then a 2” air gap before the neighbors wall. So that’s 4 sheets of 5/8” drywall with air gap between adjacent units. I never hear my neighbors.
Biggest pro for me is connection/community and easier to get friendly with neighbors in my experience. We have great people in ours and everyone treats everyone like family.
Downside is smallish back yard and HOA fees can be higher.
Luckily our townhome community is older, has a lake on property (we have a view of it), surrounded by trees and plenty of common grounds to walk around. It even has a pool. Some of the newer townhome builds look more like apartment complexes where they jam them in like sardines. I’m not a fan of the 3 story newer ones they build. 2 story is more appealing in my opinion.
Ours were built in 2002. Walls between units are 5/8” drywall on 2x4 studs on 5/8” drywall. Then a 2” air gap before the neighbors wall. So that’s 4 sheets of 5/8” drywall with air gap between adjacent units. I never hear my neighbors.
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4wd
$50 site donor 2026
We had a great college town unit - literally no 1 of 32 single story units - not just on the end facing another way - but a bit of yard with a big oak tree. The only common wall was the 2nd bedroom …
Sold a week after posting …
Sold a week after posting …
Sometimes life hands you lessons, no matter if you want them or not. As a child I was raised in a nice home on a lake in the suburbs. I loved every second of it. Then when I was 11 my parents got divorced, and my mom and I moved into an apartment in the inner city.
I hated every second of it. I bought my first house 50 years ago and never looked back. I will NEVER again live where I have to share a common wall again.... Ever.
I hated every second of it. I bought my first house 50 years ago and never looked back. I will NEVER again live where I have to share a common wall again.... Ever.
There building hundreds of townhomes in my little area. Makes me want to move even more. I guess people cannot afford single family anymore - the wages just don't support it where I am at.
I have to believe there will be a glut at some point. Eventually I assume a lot of those folks will want to upgrade and there will be a surplus of old townhomes for sale. Gen Z is tiny, even compared to Gen X. Maybe mass immigration of potential townhome buyers?
I have to believe there will be a glut at some point. Eventually I assume a lot of those folks will want to upgrade and there will be a surplus of old townhomes for sale. Gen Z is tiny, even compared to Gen X. Maybe mass immigration of potential townhome buyers?
????
Not around here LOL. Highly dependent on the area.
Patman
Staff member
I have lived in three different townhouses myself. My very first home was a brand new end unit townhome built in 1999. I got it for $180,000, it was 1400 square feet plus the 400 square foot finished basement that the builder added for free. I lived there for ten years and had great neighbors. We used to all get together every Friday night and cook steak and get drunk 
The builder did a great job with the thickness of the walls because we could never hear our next door neighbors. We paid $99 a month in maintenance fees at first and then it went up to $250 after 7 or 8 years. But they did a great job keeping the complex looking good. When I split up with my first wife in 2010 we sold the house for $325,000.
When I met my second wife she had just bought a nice townhouse and I moved in with her 4 months later. It was an end unit and it was a freehold, so no condo fees or HOA fees. It was a pretty big house for a townhome, about 2000 square feet and then we added a finished basement with an extra bedroom on top of that. She bought that house in 2011 for $529,000 and when we sold it in 2018 we got $930,000 for it.
The builder did a great job with the thickness of the walls because we could never hear our next door neighbors. We paid $99 a month in maintenance fees at first and then it went up to $250 after 7 or 8 years. But they did a great job keeping the complex looking good. When I split up with my first wife in 2010 we sold the house for $325,000. When I met my second wife she had just bought a nice townhouse and I moved in with her 4 months later. It was an end unit and it was a freehold, so no condo fees or HOA fees. It was a pretty big house for a townhome, about 2000 square feet and then we added a finished basement with an extra bedroom on top of that. She bought that house in 2011 for $529,000 and when we sold it in 2018 we got $930,000 for it.
Yea, I'm starting to see this now with the neighborhood. The second floor gets balconies in the back and some of them really trust their patio furniture to some 25-year old wood that's starting to slant, with questionable nails in the simpsons brackets.
Some of the fake window shutters outside were replaced last year because of winds and age.
The siding really needs to be power washed.
The roads are starting to show their age.
So really similar issues that a house would have, but the costs are paid via your HOA dues. Imo, it's like a monthly subscription to house maintenance
Man it sucks trying to find a house now. Townhouses probably gives the city more tax money anyways by shoehorning people in these subdivisions. Any SFH is either super old and needs a lot of work or brand new 3400sqft cookie cutter nuke towns.
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The first "house" my wife and I owned was a townhome. Benefits were it was quiet and peaceful (lots of older folks lived there), there was no yard work, and we had a pool. Downsides were a couple of jerk neighbors who didn't like that we had two little kids (we put a kink in their retirement village), and of course the ever-increasing HOA fees. Overall we loved it for the 5 years we were there, but sold to get a bigger place.
Pay the $40 or whatever it is for the Reventure app and look around the area. Lots of stats - prices going up, prices going down, etc.
I have heard property radar is useful also. Its more money, but they give a 5 day free trial which might be all you need.
Yep, there seems to be no simple detached homes being built here either.
The one town near me has several blocks of something similar built in the 1980's or 90's. They are still well maintained and are doing the job of keeping people housed without a huge investment, or expensive maintenance.
Something like this, or turned sideways with the garage door under the gable end for a narrower lot frontages, should be able to be built well, for not very many man days, or waste material.
I can see from the developers end, that there's far more profit available on a $8-900k home than a $3-4-500k, but its pretty clear that market forces aren't creating much extra supply or lower cost detached homes.
How many square feet is this home? Many jurisdictions here require a minimum square footage now. I think 1600 is common.
Also builders have figured out that it’s not that much more to build 3000 square feet and then charge much more.