A townhouse is a single-family house with two floors in the urban centers. It provides individuals with limited finances an option to buy a house instead of an apartment. Before making your buying decision, consider the following pros and cons.
Pros:
1. Affordable prices: Compared to owning a detached single-family house of the same size, a townhouse is much cheaper and suitable for individuals who want their own home instead of staying in an apartment.
2. Location: Many townhouses are conveniently located at the town centers benefiting from the city infrastructure and hospitals amenities.
3. Enough space: Many townhouses occupy 204 square meters of space with two floors. The space is big enough for a family of four with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
4. Privacy: If you want to live separately with your young family in a friendly and quiet neighborhood, then townhouse is the best choice for you.
5. Less maintenance and upkeep: If you don’t like doing farmyard activities you don’t have to worry since your monthly maintenance fee is used to hire contractors. The cost of maintenance is shared among the house owners
6. Amenities: Owning a townhome you can have access to recreational activities and other amenities. It provides halls for private meetings, gathering, and an extra parking space.
7. Discount on the purchase: Developers of new townhouses offer a discount on the sale of units therefore, you can receive a good discount when buying a new townhouse.
8. Insurance cover: Townhouse owners can obtain both interior and exterior insurance cover for the unit although the rates may be higher than for condos which only insure the interior of the unit.
9. Common interests: Most of the townhouses are built with common interests of residents in mind. Therefore, you’re guaranteed a house that suits your interests.
10. Good investment: Most of the townhouse buyers are investors. They can sale the townhouse at a profit and use the proceeds of the sale to buy a detached house.
Cons:
1. Maintenance fee: You are required to pay for a monthly maintenance fee to a homeowners association. Make sure you analyze the services offered and charges before buying the house.
2. Restrictions: You don’t have the freedom to redesign the townhouse, own certain pets or even walk with your dog around the yard. You have to follow certain rules.
3. Noisy neighbors: Although you have your own separate house, you share a wall with your neighbors and it can be a disadvantage if the neighbors are noisy.
4. Small yard: Although the townhouse is spacious, it has a small parking space. The space in the yard depends on the design of the townhouse with some having a garage in the base.
5. Additional temporary fee: The owner of the townhouse is required to pay for an extra temporary assessment fee apart from the normal monthly fee.
6. Estate taxes: You’re required to pay for estate taxes as per the local tax assessment.
7. Cluttered within town center: Townhouses are cluttered within urban centers with less interior and exterior space as compared to detached single-family home.
8. Shared control: As townhouse homeowner, you’re required to share the control and cost of the townhouse with your next door neighbor.
9. Finance challenge: Townhouse homeowners may consider using mortgage financing unless their paying in cash. Mortgage financing has various restrictions on townhouses and more expensive.
10. Participate in the association: The homeowners are required to participate as board members, accountants or as secretaries without any compensation for their time and work.
That’s good to know that you could have a cheaper price for your home if you get a townhouse. I would want to make sure that I could own my place, but I can’t afford a house at the moment. A townhouse might be a good option for me to invest in real estate without having to buy a house.
I’m glad that you talk about how townhomes are cheaper than detached single-family houses and still provide you with your own space, unlike an apartment. This would be useful to stay within budget and still get the privacy and other benefits you want from a home. When choosing one, it would probably be a good idea to figure out what requirements you have, such as size and price, so you can then start looking online at townhome sales to figure out which one fits your needs and will provide you with a house that you love and are comfortable with.
My husband and I are thinking about buying our first small home soon and we are thinking about getting a townhome so I appreciate all of the information you provide in this article! It makes a lot of sense that townhomes come with amenities like parking spaces and recreational gatherings and activities. This seems like a great way for my husband and me to make friends and feel involved in the community when we move in!
Excellent Article, very impressive points are discussed about Townhouse.