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re: Thoughts on Townhomes?
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:09 am to Forkbeard3777
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:09 am to Forkbeard3777
quote:
Any thoughts?
I think your wife wants to downsize not "we"
1
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:12 am to Forkbeard3777
Townhomes in a large city are much more common than what people are used to down south. Most people down here want land and lack of neighbors. Therefore you may not get the best opinions from the OT since most of the posters have not lived outside of the SE.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:14 am to Forkbeard3777
Wife and I bought a new construction town home 2 BR, 2.5 bath, with a nice sized patio, community green spaces, pool and pool house we can rent for free(under construction), and dog park.
Its our "city home" before we have kids. Takes us both 5 minutes to get to work downtown.
We intentionally bought the end unit so we only share 1 wall and we never hear our neighbor. The units are well built though by a respected developer/contractor. Its a pretty cool feeling living in a brand new home where we got to pick all the features (hard wood colors, granite colors, appliances, etc.).
We just weren't ready to buy a house in the burbs and it was a great investment because of its location. We really love it.
ETA:
Nashville
Its our "city home" before we have kids. Takes us both 5 minutes to get to work downtown.
We intentionally bought the end unit so we only share 1 wall and we never hear our neighbor. The units are well built though by a respected developer/contractor. Its a pretty cool feeling living in a brand new home where we got to pick all the features (hard wood colors, granite colors, appliances, etc.).
We just weren't ready to buy a house in the burbs and it was a great investment because of its location. We really love it.
ETA:
Nashville
This post was edited on 2/9/17 at 9:21 am
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:16 am to Forkbeard3777
I live in some very newly constructed townhomes right now. They did some kind of wizardry with the walls such that I literally never hear my neighbors. Something about 3 firewalls between the units, not sure what it is but it works. I hear more noise through the windows at the front of the unit then I do through the walls. Make sure you pick an upscale place though, trashy neoghbors might suck.
Parking sucks, But I am so freaking happy I downsized, makes home life much easier to manage!
edit: Like the poster above me I am married with no kids and the 2 br, 2.5 bath works really well.
Parking sucks, But I am so freaking happy I downsized, makes home life much easier to manage!
edit: Like the poster above me I am married with no kids and the 2 br, 2.5 bath works really well.
This post was edited on 2/9/17 at 9:18 am
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:17 am to Grandioso
quote:
at they are commonly built up. They all derived from the same 3-5 "templates" and I'm very skeptical of how they'll hold their value in the distant future. The old brownstones you'd find in NY, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington D.C. are great. These "futuristic, Jetson-like" mid-century modern homes in and around Austin are another thing.
Nashville has those as well. Our development is brick, traditional design. I agree these futuristic designs are going to completely lose their value in 10 years.
We went under contract last February and have made substantial equity in 1 year because of the ridiculous housing market in Nashville. We'll probably buy in the burbs in a couple years when we have kids and rent this place out (close to Vandy and downtown). It would be super easy to do and easily cover the mortgage.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:30 am to TheCaterpillar
quote:
Nashville has those as well. Our development is brick, traditional design. I agree these futuristic designs are going to completely lose their value in 10 years.
Some people love it. I'm not implying that every design must be modeled after a Georgian or a stately Gothic Revival, but taper it down a little bit. The worst thing about these units is that it doesn't reflect the character of the neighborhood around it. You'll see a common, developmental scheme (ranch style homes or a craftsman homes for example) and then you have this colossal blemish smack-dab in the middle of them all.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:41 am to Forkbeard3777
quote:
I've never lived in one, but am somewhat concerned about privacy
Then don't get a townhouse...its basically like living in an apartment as far as privacy goes, but without option to just leave once the lease is up.
My first house was a townhouse. Bought it because it was in an area I wanted to be and fit my poor budget back then. Only pro's were that the townhouse was more affordable than a detached house and it only took me about 15 minutes to cut the grass.
But parking was limited. Every time neighbors had people over, you could hear them through the shared wall. If the neighboring property isn't kept up as well on the exterior and landscaping, it makes your unit look trashy too...my neighboring unit was a rental so they weren't keeping it as nice as if it was owner occupied. And its was tougher market to sell it because of those reasons.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:41 am to Grandioso
quote:
I am such a stickler for efficiency and practicality
I'm not sure what you mean by efficiency but if you are talking energy efficiency, building up is more efficient than moving out. Multiple stories puts more square footage under a smaller roof. This is a big factor for HVAC loading.
For example, I once had a single story home that was 1300 sq ft and required 2.5 tons of cooling and 50k btuh of heating. Just a couple blocks away, I now have a 2400 sq ft 2-story home with a slightly smaller footprint than the old house and my cooling load is 1.8 tons and heating load is 32k btuh. Some of this improvement is better insulation but when you do the manual J, a lot of of the difference comes from roof/attic area.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:45 am to Tiger Prawn
quote:
Then don't get a townhouse...its basically like living in an apartment as far as privacy goes,
Depends on the way they are built. Like I said. I never hear my neighbors.
I BLAST my home theater, and I asked them if they can hear it and they can't.
This post was edited on 2/9/17 at 9:46 am
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:54 am to SG_Geaux
I never hear my neighbors either, but beyond that, I am kinda surprised to see townhome living being separated from apartment living in this thread. It isn't all that different.
I live in a townhome, and I love where I live. But I always just considered it an apartment. That's all it really is... A larger apartment that happens to be two-story and happens to have a fenced in back patio/deck. I still park in a lot (though the spot is covered).. I still take my dog to poo on a leash.. I still get my mail from a cube in a bank of mailboxes.. all apartment things IMO.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 9:59 am to SG_Geaux
I have a four story/three bedroom/4.5 bath. Top floor is a gameroom. Located in the heights. 2700 square foot house with a terrace.
It is attached but I never hear neighbors. Firewall 2/3 times over.
The 4th terrace makes up for no yard IMO. If I had a yard I would use it strictly for entertaining. The terrace does that but zero up keep no yard maintenance. I am single and I don't want to deal with a yard. To me that makes up for some of the HOA fees. (I also get water through HOA-community has a pool).
I also have street parking for friends and family. No awkward park and walk 200 paces through a community driveway to get to my front door. THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE in Houston. There are way too many townhome developments that do this. I understand why tho-houstonians NEED their cars. Garages are a must.
It works for me. I will probably keep it long term for investment property reasons. But I also got a great deal on it so if the market allows me to sell for X I will do so and upgrade.
It is attached but I never hear neighbors. Firewall 2/3 times over.
The 4th terrace makes up for no yard IMO. If I had a yard I would use it strictly for entertaining. The terrace does that but zero up keep no yard maintenance. I am single and I don't want to deal with a yard. To me that makes up for some of the HOA fees. (I also get water through HOA-community has a pool).
I also have street parking for friends and family. No awkward park and walk 200 paces through a community driveway to get to my front door. THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE in Houston. There are way too many townhome developments that do this. I understand why tho-houstonians NEED their cars. Garages are a must.
It works for me. I will probably keep it long term for investment property reasons. But I also got a great deal on it so if the market allows me to sell for X I will do so and upgrade.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:00 am to Forkbeard3777
Sorry not poor
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:09 am to Forkbeard3777
Lived in one in BR for a few years. It was fine.
Lived in one in Nashville for a year. It was fine.
Live a house now. I like the house better because I can blast my music and don't have to worry about walking naked in front of the window.
Lived in one in Nashville for a year. It was fine.
Live a house now. I like the house better because I can blast my music and don't have to worry about walking naked in front of the window.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:13 am to LouisianaLady
quote:
I never hear my neighbors either, but beyond that, I am kinda surprised to see townhome living being separated from apartment living in this thread. It isn't all that different.
I live in a townhome, and I love where I live. But I always just considered it an apartment. That's all it really is... A larger apartment that happens to be two-story and happens to have a fenced in back patio/deck. I still park in a lot (though the spot is covered).. I still take my dog to poo on a leash.. I still get my mail from a cube in a bank of mailboxes.. all apartment things IMO.
Entering through a front door on the ground and having a private back yard/patio is what makes it completely different than an apartment.
I've lived in both and just because I get my mail at a mailbox bank doesn't make it close to an apartment. I only share 1 wall with a neighbor.
I grill outside on my large private patio and have lots of people over, I have several stories, attic storage, etc.
quote:
A larger apartment that happens to be two-story and happens to have a fenced in back patio/deck.
This is such a huge difference
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:15 am to BottomlandBrew
quote:
Live a house now. I like the house better because I can blast my music and don't have to worry about walking naked in front of the window.
I do both
Although I don't blast it outside. Our walls are really great about blocking noise. I do wish I could blast my music as I grilled outside.
I have grass on my big patio and piss outside all the time FWIW.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:25 am to Forkbeard3777
I live in a townhome in small complex/cul-de-sac with 8 units. I've renting it for about 2 years and have really enjoyed it. However, I'm not sure if I would want to own one (unless I got a really good deal on it) as opposed to just renting one. I would much rather buy a single-family home.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:40 am to rantfan
quote:
Any thoughts?
I'd really do my due diligence and thoroughly check it out (the unit itself and the community).
A buddy of mine recently purchased a multi-family (A/B Unit) home. He initially thought the other side hadn't sold. Nope. It was owned by someone in California who strictly leases it out to bachelor/bachelorette parties, musicians, and other short-term airbnb rentals.
Needless to say he's livid.
This post was edited on 2/9/17 at 10:41 am
Posted on 2/9/17 at 10:56 am to Forkbeard3777
quote:
community housing units (not an apartment or complex)?
Call it what you want, sounds like an apartment
Posted on 2/9/17 at 11:04 am to 12Pence
quote:
I'd really do my due diligence and thoroughly check it out (the unit itself and the community).
A buddy of mine recently purchased a multi-family (A/B Unit) home. He initially thought the other side hadn't sold. Nope. It was owned by someone in California who strictly leases it out to bachelor/bachelorette parties, musicians, and other short-term airbnb rentals.
Needless to say he's livid.
Are you in Nashville? I have 3 separate friends that have neighbors that are strictly Airbnb rentals, which in Nashville, means 75% bachelorette parties.
A couple of them are single and actually think its awesome, the other is married with kids and frickING HATES IT.
Posted on 2/9/17 at 11:06 am to TheCaterpillar
Don't get me wrong - those are nice things to have. I guess in my head, though, it is just an apartment with nicer amenities. I was living in a shite apartment before; now I live in a nice apartment with a patio and a front door/back door. Still an apartment in my mind though, even with the "townhome" label. I still share a roof with others and park in a parking lot and encounter other people (like mikel, he's my neighbor ) when I walk outside.
Agree. They're all shared living in some regard.
I always wondered where "condo" falls in the mix. What makes something a condo, but not an apartment or townhome?
) when I walk outside. quote:
Call it what you want, sounds like an apartment
Agree. They're all shared living in some regard.
I always wondered where "condo" falls in the mix. What makes something a condo, but not an apartment or townhome?
This post was edited on 2/9/17 at 11:08 am
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