Rockville Townhouse or Germantown/Boyds Single Family house (Ellicott City, Bethesda: real estate, condo)

[beeth]

My wife and I are now struggling the decision for our new home: Rockville Townhouse or Germantown/Boyds Single Family house?
For the same price, we know Roville TH can have much better school(like Woodtom HS), better location for commute to work(in Bethesda), and maybe better neighborhood, however, it's town house. ( Assume we spend $600K for a Rockville TH, built in 2005, around 2600 feet. )
While we can buy a very decent single family house in Germantown with around $570K, with around 3800 feet living space.
For resale value, single family house is much better than town house, however, location is a major factor as well. How should we balance this? I appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you!

[firefightermom]

I would go with Rockville. As you said, better schools, closer to work, better neighborhood. Most people in the metro DC area really see nothing wrong with townhouses, for most people of average income, a TH is their starter home, and I know many people who actually prefer THs for various reasons.

[trying2moveup]

IMHO, I would go for the SFH even though the commute and schools may not be as great at the TH. I lived in a TH for 8 years. It was supposed to be a "starter home" for 5 years., but then the housing boom forced us to remain there, even though it had appreciated over 100% since we bought it. SFH prices had also appreciated accordingly and it made the leap from TH to SFH impossible - until the economy imploded. Since we hadn't used our house as an ATM, we were then finally able to do so this year. By then we had 2 kids and had 4 of us living in this TH and it was getting tight. . .

What I'm saying is in resale terms, you will always be able to do better selling a SFH to buy another one than selling acondo or TH to move up to a SFH unless you have crazy appreciation in addition to paying down the mortgage and we will not see the appreciation levels we had before ever again. Period.

If you want a SFH, if you ever want to sell in the future and by another SFH, I'd buy a SFH now.

[TrippingJay]

I would go with Rockville for the better commute and schools. Yes, you can have a huge single family home, but if you spend more time commuting than at home, what's the point?

[beeth]

First, thanks a lot for the advice!

My situation is that we don't have kid for now, however, we plan to have one or two kids and years later we have to stay(or go back) to Rockville/Potomac for better school for them. ( For now, SFH in Rockville/Potomac with good school, built after 1980, are far above our budget. )
for Now, if we spend around $600K for the house, which one could possibly value more when we switch to SFH in Rockville/Potomac after 7-10 years, Rockville TH or Germantown big SFH?
Some people say do not go for Germantown, because the house appreciation in Rockville always higher than Germantown, you can't move back to Rockville in the future due to the price difference will become more and more. I agree. However, how about the comparison between Rockville TN and Germantown big SFH, for the same price($600K)? Any idea?

Thanks again!

[dkf747]

Rockville is going to be better, even with a TH.

[K-Bear]

Rockville townhouse, without a doubt. Like another poster mentioned, townhouses are not looked down upon here. But living further out (like Germantown or Boyds) can be looked down upon. Your Rockville TH will appreciate more than a Germantown SFH (and a Bethesda townhouse will probably appreciate more than a Rockville townhouse too).

Wait - I'm talking in 2005 terms. Houses appreciating in this market? Ha! You will be able to sell a Rockville th in the Wooten school district better than you would a Germantown SFH.

[GJHJ]

[quote=K-Bear;7519429]Rockville townhouse, without a doubt. Like another poster mentioned, townhouses are not looked down upon here. But living further out (like Germantown or Boyds) can be looked down upon.quote]


What do you mean by this statement? I was raised in MoCo, specifically Gaithersburg, and noone looked down on people who lived furhter out, other than the County Council and County Executive, who only spent money on down-county projects.

A single family home up-county will definately be a better value.

[K-Bear]

[quote=GJHJ;7520255]

Originally Posted by K-Bear

Rockville townhouse, without a doubt. Like another poster mentioned, townhouses are not looked down upon here. But living further out (like Germantown or Boyds) can be looked down upon.quote]


What do you mean by this statement? I was raised in MoCo, specifically Gaithersburg, and noone looked down on people who lived furhter out, other than the County Council and County Executive, who only spent money on down-county projects.

A single family home up-county will definately be a better value.

Looked down upon in the context of a more metro, closer to DC setting vs. a more suburban, rural further away from DC setting. Doesn't mean the people of Germantown are looked down on, more like the setting.

I think a home closer in will hold value better than one further out.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by beeth

My wife and I are now struggling the decision for our new home: Rockville Townhouse or Germantown/Boyds Single Family house?
For the same price, we know Roville TH can have much better school(like Woodtom HS), better location for commute to work(in Bethesda), and maybe better neighborhood, however, it's town house. ( Assume we spend $600K for a Rockville TH, built in 2005, around 2600 feet. )
While we can buy a very decent single family house in Germantown with around $570K, with around 3800 feet living space.
For resale value, single family house is much better than town house, however, location is a major factor as well. How should we balance this? I appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you!

I'd say Rockville. With real estate - its location, location and location. And Rockville is > than Germantown from a location stand point.

Also - I'd think that in general a TH in Rockville will always give you the opprotunity for a SFH further out later on. That's what we did - got into a TH in Potomac, lived there for 6 years and moved into a great SFH in Ellicott City with cash to spare. We got into the TH around 2000 - so the market was just about to take off... But still - when you trade houses like that - it sort of cancels each other out (you get more, but you also pay more). But Potomac is still more desirable than Ellicott City (in Real Estate terms)... so we were able to get more for our money.

I think if you go to Germantown - going back to Rockville may be tougher than the other way around.