What's your opinion on this? Alot of people claim they are too much like apartments being connected to each other, and sharing a wall with your neighbor. We are looking at this townhome that is attatched, but the garage seperates the two townhomes. The upside to this townhome, is its just outside of an area where homes are overpriced, and they only ask for a 3.5% downpaymen which is all I can afford. here is the link to photos and a virtual tour. http://www.ryanhomes.com/Glyndon_12387.html
i'm not one to tell people how to live their lives, but if all you can afford is a 5600 down payment on $160,000 "home", then i don't think you can afford the house.
Just make sure you check it for tags before moving in. :grin: On a serious note, that townhouse looks very nice.
I can't remember the difference, but I believe with townhomes you own everything and are responsible for sheetrock repairs, etc just like a home...with condos you own the air and space, so sheetrock, settling, etc is the responsibility of the HOA. You pay HOA dues on both. I live in a condo and I like the lack of yard work and such..it was a great price point for me and I do share one wall w/ my neighbor, but its quiet...I don't have a garage, but a carport, but thats ok... good luck...
Keep in mind you have to pay $200-400 of HOA fees monthly, which would probably enable you to afford a house in a higher price range. HOA fee for houses is only around 5-700 annually.
how far is this townhome from the endzone where Andre caught that clutch TD against the 'skins last Sunday?
better do a lot more research on how much it costs to buy a home. as ima_drummer said, you have to take into account PMI, Property taxes, Insurance, HOA fees, not to mention school tax? that new baby has to go to school somewhere. if that is "all you can afford", you need to buy less. just because you are approved for a $160,000 loan, doesn't mean you need to go buy a $160,000 house.
Look at that HOA closely. Think about how much you will have spent on it over just 10 years. Imagine trying to rent the place out someday, you have cover that fee, your payments, and still make a profit? It'll be razor thin. All that and the HOA will most likely increase every year of your life until you die. But I don't know that area, so who knows, it could make sense. For all we know the HOA in that area is small.
I live in a townhome that shares walls, and it sucks! You just hear too much. I can hear when my neighbor closes a cabinet, takes a shower, flushes toilet, slamming front/back door makes a lot of noise and shakes the building, music/bass easily heard through walls, walking around upstairs can be heard in my place if i'm downstairs... I guess it really depends on how well the home is constructed. My place was built in 1982, so it's going on 30 years old. You may not have the same problem with a newer construction.
If the monthly payment (including PMI, taxes, insurance, and HOA fees) is more than 1/4th of your TAKE HOME pay, I wouldn't do it. Too many bad things can happen over 30 years (life of the loan).
I live in a townhome built in 2009 by David Weekley and I've had no problems with it. I do live on the end, so don't have neighbors on one side, which is admittedly nice, as I do occasionally hear my neighbor's cabinet's close, but having lived in an apartment for years, it wasn't that big of a deal - plus my neighbor is really nice and can put up with what is probably a lot more noise from us. The insurance policy I have on the home covers everything inside of the home, as the HOA covers the roof & exterior, which can reduce the overall premium. I'd say go for it if you can deal with the payments and like the area; you get the benefit of homeownership, while reducing some overhead in things like yard maintenance; I will say my HOA costs are much higher than what regular homes pay, so that may be of some consideration for you. Good luck!
Bear in mind, HOA dues typically include trash collection, lawn and grounds maintenance, and sometimes water. I'm not sure how much HOA dues run in Houston but $200ish/mo isn't so bad. My building here in SF charges owners $640/mo in dues...
I live in a 3 story house that is kind of similar to these, but mine is free standing. I think it is worth the little bit extra so that you don't share walls with neighbors.
http://www.ryanhomes.com/Oakmont_Villas_At_Kentland_9739120061103.html These are nice, same company, just detatched homes. For a little bit more.
