Townhouse or Single Family home (Raleigh, Apex: real estate, apartment, to rent)

[greekboy799]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I just moved from western new york and are looking for homes in Apex NC. The decision that we are working with now is to move into a newer or newly built townhouse or a single family home, at least 8 years of age or more. I know the obvious concerns that people have about townhomes of little or no yard and shared wall with neighbor; but I do know of the plusses like lower monthly cost (in some cases) and reduced maintainence.

What are additional pros and cons? What has been the trend of home buyers in the Apex area for housing options? Are there more people looking to move into townhouses/condos? In the Apex area, what is the appriciation percentage per year of townhouses vs. single family homes?

[saturnfan]

Most townhomes in NC stick you with all maintenance except landscaping and common areas. A real condo provides more maintenance.

One Centex townhome community HOA requires you to use your Raleigh water for the community's plants (moot now because watering is banned because of the drought).

Buy a house - rent an apartment.

[tluv00]

Having lived in both I will say go for the single family home just for the fact that you cannot a) pick your neighbors, b) the savings on utilities mainly only accounts for heat and it's really not that significant and c) having your own driveway instead of reserved/unreserved parking is a blessing (yes I know some town homes have garages)

You can hear every door slam, every argument, people going up the steps, people outside in their cars in a town home. Little to no privacy on your deck, if a fire starts in one town home most likely they are all going up and again YOU CAN HEAR EVERYTHING (case by case with builder but most of the time you can hear everything).

Single family home provides you with your own land.....LAND not a tiny strip of nothing, a driveway for your...I repeat YOUR parking pleasure (of course there are town homes with driveways and garages but they are usually much more)...more storage, neighbors are not on top of you and at 8 years old you should have more land anyways I would think and it's just nicer to have the space, yard and everything else IMO.

Newer is not always nicer either. In today's market of slower selling homes builders are sometimes resorting to cheaper materials to make up for the DOM growth. Be weary of your builder if you go new. Good luck!

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by saturnfan

Most townhomes in NC stick you with all maintenance except landscaping and common areas. A real condo provides more maintenance.

One Centex townhome community HOA requires you to use your Raleigh water for the community's plants (moot now because watering is banned because of the drought).

Buy a house - rent an apartment.

It is very easy to find town homes that handle exterior maintenance of the building.
I think "most" is an overstatement.

Originally Posted by tluv00

Having lived in both I will say go for the single family home just for the fact that you cannot a) pick your neighbors, b) the savings on utilities mainly only accounts for heat and it's really not that significant and c) having your own driveway instead of reserved/unreserved parking is a blessing (yes I know some town homes have garages)

You can hear every door slam, every argument, people going up the steps, people outside in their cars in a town home. Little to no privacy on your deck, if a fire starts in one town home most likely they are all going up and again YOU CAN HEAR EVERYTHING (case by case with builder but most of the time you can hear everything).

Single family home provides you with your own land.....LAND not a tiny strip of nothing, a driveway for your...I repeat YOUR parking pleasure (of course there are town homes with driveways and garages but they are usually much more)...more storage, neighbors are not on top of you and at 8 years old you should have more land anyways I would think and it's just nicer to have the space, yard and everything else IMO.

Newer is not always nicer either. In today's market of slower selling homes builders are sometimes resorting to cheaper materials to make up for the DOM growth. Be weary of your builder if you go new. Good luck!

I agree with tluv. I like living 20 feet from my neighbors, rather than 10" away through a common wall.

[aahlawat]

What are additional pros and cons? What has been the trend of home buyers in the Apex area for housing options? Are there more people looking to move into townhouses/condos? In the Apex area, what is the appriciation percentage per year of townhouses vs. single family homes?

I think the biggest advantage of owning the townhome is that you don't have to worry about landscaping and any exterior maintainance. I have lived in Apex for about 4 year and being in real estate I have noticed that everyone has there preerene to what they want to buy and what they can afford. A townhome might have a higher HOA but it covers everything outside the townhouse. The appreciation on townhomes are more than the houses in Apex. It gives more return but if you have a big family than the house will be better choice.

The appreciation in Apex is 4.5 % each year depanding on where you live. Wake Med is opening a new hospital in Apex and that will increase the value of your home. The bigest benfit of owning a house to me is that you have a yard and HOA is lot less than a Townhome. Another benefit is that you have a garage and you can't her your neighbor arguing in their home. You are responsible for all the repairs in the house inside and outside but on the other hand for a townhome you are only responsible for inside of th house. As far as what is selling more, that depands on a persons preferrence.

Apex is growing very fast and is offering a tremendous appreciation on the properties. They have about 3 months of inventory can lots of good builders are moving into the area as they see potential in this place. Well I can talk about this all day but it is your decision to make and i think you should also consult a Realtor so he can give moe demographics. I hope this helps. Good luck.

[VickiR]

If I didn't have hubby to do the yard work, I'd live in a townhouse in a heartbeat!

Single family homes do tend to appreciate a bit faster than a townhouse but it really depends on what you want and your style of living.

Quite a few townhouse DO offer exterior maintenance. An end unit would be my preference.

Condo? Not for me, too much like apartment living. I don't like the idea of being surrounded by others!

Vicki

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by aahlawat

The appreciation on townhomes are more than the houses in Apex.

I find that a bit difficult to beleive. I'm sure there are always exceptions, but in my experience Singel Family homes typically do better in resale situations than townhomes. Maybe Apex is unique in some way, but with most places I look at in the Triangle the single family homes seem to do a bit better in this reagard.

Personally, if you can easily afford doing one over the other I would go with a single family home. There are only 3 special situations where I would seriously consider buying a townhouse:

1) The townhouse in question offers a far superior location with a superb commute and is zoned to superior schools for any children I have children.

2) A townhouse is the only type residence I can afford and I don't want to rent anymore.

3) I can afford anything I want but I don't want to do any exterior maintenance or landscaping and I don't mind paying somebody else to do it for me each month.

Other than that, I would always go with a SFH. Just my opinion.

Good Luck

[Funky Chicken]

The only thing I would suggest is that you really be honest with yourself about whether or not you are really interested in maintaining a yard.

[Trevor92]

Also, keep a lot of these comments in mind but don't completely rule out townhouses on the basis of less maintenance, no driveway, and Homeowner's Association fees. It is possible to find townhouses without HOA's, with driveway's, and where you do all your own maintenance. They are rare, but after a recent housing hunt with a limited budget in my experience, I found a couple if you do your homework. But everything is relative and they're all worth seeing. When you find the right home for you within your budget, you'll know it.

[DebbieF]

I agree with Vicki on the end unit townhome. There are some beautiful townhomes and I wouldn't have a problem living in one, but again would love the end unit. Some townhomes are so large now you don't even know anyone is on the other side of the wall. I am trying to decide right now if that is the way I want to go. Personally I don't see anything wrong with it unless you want a yard for children.