There are many common misconception about townhomes, one being that they are simply glorified apartments with power hungry homeowner’s associations that don’t allow you to do anything to your home whether or not you are renting or buying. However, even the rental properties have a lot of leeway and townhomes are nothing like apartments or even condos. A condo or an apartment can only have the interior of the home be owned. That’s why the HOA can control the outside. However, townhomes actually own the land that the house is on. Here are some other benefits to owning a town house.
Yard Space
While the amount of land that you own where your town house sits, is going to be fairly small it still may have a small yard. There could be grass, trees and shrubs and it could look very nice if you make it that way. However, even in rental properties of townhomes, the HOA will take care of the grass as well as the roof and leaf blowing and basically exterior maintenance if you keep up with your due every month. You can plant and weed if you wish, but if you don’t, your yard will still look good thanks to the HOA. The HOA may have specifications about what you can plant in order to keep the neighborhood looking uniform and organized so you will probably want to find that out before investing in expensive plants or flowers. If you never wanted a yard and don’t ever want to have to do anything with it, never fear, the homeowner’s association will still take care of it and you’ll have a perfectly manicured lawn with zero work effort put in.
Amenities
When living in a town house, you practically never have to leave the community. Typically there will be a gym, a pool, a recreation room, laundry facilities and possibly even sports amenities like a basketball court or tennis courts. Strictly speaking, if you own your town house then you own a portion of each of these amenities. The percentage of how much you own depends on how many homes are in the development. For example, if there are 50 units, then you own two percent of each of the amenities that are available to you. This gives you a very small opportunity to have a say in how those amenities look and act. In any case, it’s nice to have these things nearby to keep yourself and your family entertained.
Pricing
Town houses tend to be less expensive than a single family home. While you’ll still be paying a mortgage and HOA fees but each of these will cost a lot less than if you were in a free standing home. Typically, town houses are smaller than regular houses but sometimes they can even be multilevel with as many bedrooms and bathrooms as the plan calls for. There’s no limit to their location possibilities and you could even find yourself close to the city center or something convenient. However, the more conveniently placed town house, the more you will pay for it. Although, it will still be less than a conveniently placed regular house.
Neighbors
This could be a pro or a con, depending on the type of person you are. Because the units are so close and often time, you have to share parking areas, you have the opportunity to be good friends with your neighbors. Of course if you have awful neighbors, the closeness is not a good thing at all. However, the great thing about having neighbors so close by is that everyone tends to look out for one another and any suspicious activity will be noticed right away. If you have a neighbor you can trust, it’s nice for when you go out of town. They can keep an eye on your house, pets and mail for you. If you need a babysitter or a ride to work, close neighbors can come in very handy.
There are many more benefits to living in townhouses, it just really depends on what you are looking for out of a living experience. It is the perfect mix of an apartment or condo and a house. If that’s what you are looking for then you are in luck!