Buying townhouse/condo vs house (real estate, renting, HOA)

[ah0741]

Hello, was wondering if there are any disadvantages of buying a townhouse/condominium in williamsville/amherst/clarence area instead of buying of a house. We are planning to live in the area for only 3-4 years and have been renting for the past 2 years.

[CAugust]

The biggest disadvantage is that it's like an apt, with people surrounding you I suppose, you don't get your own "yard" or privacy - to me, that's a huge downfall ... (those little sitting areas with fencing just dont cut it for me)

that being said - you get a pool maintained and usually a community room that sometimes has a work out room - you dont have to mow your lawn or shovel your walkway ..... to name a few perks as well

It all depends on YOUR specific needs basically......

Sometimes condos are a little tougher to re-sell, although first floor ones sell much better than higher up ones. I imagine due to the fact that when people get older and want to downsize they dont want to walk up the steps.

[Checkered24]

I second the feeling regarding those downsides.

To me, our real estate locally is too affordable to really look at a condo/townhouse, unless you really want to avoid the maintenance hassles of a house and would rather just pay into the association. I have done considerable research into moving to DC due to past job offers, and see a definite advantage to condos/townhouses there. You can live closer to DC cheaper than owning a freestanding house, simply because of the cost of property down there. However here, the townhouses/condos seem to cost as much, if not more, than comparable individual homes.

They just don’t seem to be a good value to me for this market, especially considering the negatives such as the relative closeness of neighbors and such.

Some people really like them, and I wouldn’t discourage anyone who wanted one to get it. However, I would make sure you really want it, because the advantages around here are rather limited IMO.

[Iontheprize]

While I think Townhouses are fine, if you are considering a house--that's the route I would take. Much less privacy and space (in general) with a town house. Plus, I personally can't stand HOA's...

dp

[JH6]

Condo's are harder to sell around here also, most people don't want them. It takes a certain niche of a person to buy a condo in this area.

Secondly, you probably pay a HOA fee, which is not the usual around here.

For whatever that condo costs, you can buy a very nice house trust me.

But, the advantages of the condo, is that your HOA fee pays for repairing your roof, and upkeeping landscaping.

[ah0741]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I will surely look into the pricing and fees of condo's and townhouses.

[Checkered24]

What is your draw to a condo or townhouse? Do you just want to avoid the daily maintenance? Or are trying to be insulated from any costly repairs (roof, etc)?

[JH6]

Originally Posted by Checkered24

What is your draw to a condo or townhouse? Do you just want to avoid the daily maintenance? Or are trying to be insulated from any costly repairs (roof, etc)?

In this area, it does not make sense.. Other areas sure it does..

Houses are cheap enough here.. If you take what you would pay to a HOA, you could stuff that money into a savings account, and have plenty of money to take care of any repairs or upkeep to a home.

[minusach]

Well, just thought that townhouses/condos would be cheaper than buying a house and easier to re-sell than a house. But from reading these posts, it seems price is not that much of a difference. Anyway, we have decided to continue renting, as rumors are flying around my husband's company about layoffs and my salary is not enough to support the whole family. So will stay put for now...never know when we might have to leave buffalo.
thanks for everyone's replies.

[ah0741]

sorry just realised my wife replied on my behalf using her username. That looks a bit weird..cause the post was started by me. I have got addicted to this forum..cause of my wife.