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Who designs these tall townhouses? Enter on the garage/basement level, carry ALL your groceries up a flight of stairs... go up another 2 flights to the master bedroom to change your clothes. I wouldn't want that even if I were in my 20s!!..
I too wouldn't want to carry my groceries (or if I had kids, a small child) up a flight of stairs all the time. Townhomes with lower level garages are built for maximum square footage with minimal land. Typically, the larger the acreage, the higher the price of the home. Since townhomes build up instead of out, the homeowner can get the most living area for the lowest price. What surprises me is we see no house stating this when considering a town home. They might comment about the number of stairs, but they all seem "blown away" by the pretty views, natural light and updated kitchens to think about carrying groceries/kids up all those stairs.
Who designs these tall townhouses? Enter on the garage/basement level, carry ALL your groceries up a flight of stairs... go up another 2 flights to the master bedroom to change your clothes. I wouldn't want that even if I were in my 20s!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by eggalegga
I too wouldn't want to carry my groceries (or if I had kids, a small child) up a flight of stairs all the time. Townhomes with lower level garages are built for maximum square footage with minimal land. Typically, the larger the acreage, the higher the price of the home. Since townhomes build up instead of out, the homeowner can get the most living area for the lowest price. What surprises me is we see no house stating this when considering a town home. They might comment about the number of stairs, but they all seem "blown away" by the pretty views, natural light and updated kitchens to think about carrying groceries/kids up all those stairs.
A relative of mine just a bought a condo like this. The location is awesome but whew....so many stairs. Its located in a bustling downtown area which is cool. Many places to walk to but real estate is a premium so builders try to max the options for such a small footprint. I kind of warned her about it when we looked at the place. I thought the stairs would be an issue. Well not even 6 months later she has buyers remorse. The stairs are indeed an issue. She also found out the condos are slow sellers due to the stairs.
Bringing in groceries is a major chore but I think what frustrates her the most is trying to furnish the place. Everything has to be delivered unless she gets someone in the family to help her out and I have a suspicion some are not answering their phones anymore. The staircases are not particularly wide and stairs are laid out like an L, which adds to the difficulty. She bought a tv and most electronic places don't deliver so she has to seek out places that do and ends up over paying for things just for the option of delivery, which produces even more cost. She had a bedroom set delivered a month ago, the guys were so fatigued by the time they got to the 3rd set of stairs they banged the stuff into the wall leaving marks. She was pretty upset about it. The walls are really tall along with the high ceilings so its not like she can touch up the paint herself. We went shopping together and there was a furniture store going out of biz. Really great deals. She needed a few end tables and so forth. Nothing too heavy but she didnt buy anything because she wasn't sure she could get the tables up the stairs by herself due to the awkwardness of the layout. The condo is cool but I think its one of those type of places where you buy everything new, have it all delivered and THEN move in.
Thanks for that post. I never would've thought about dealing with moving furniture with all those stairs. I have a split-entry home. Didn't want it when I was house hunting but there wasn't much I could afford for my first home. My refrigerator had to be brought into my kitchen via my sliding glass door on my deck. Wouldn't fit any other way. Glad my deck stairs and the deck itself were sturdy/stable enough for this to happen. When I replaced my sliding glass door 2 years ago, I measured the width of the door opening to make sure my old fridge could be removed after getting a new door installed. I didn't want to have to deal with that nightmare in the future.
Thanks for that post. I never would've thought about dealing with moving furniture with all those stairs. I have a split-entry home. Didn't want it when I was house hunting but there wasn't much I could afford for my first home. My refrigerator had to be brought into my kitchen via my sliding glass door on my deck. Wouldn't fit any other way. Glad my deck stairs and the deck itself were sturdy/stable enough for this to happen. When I replaced my sliding glass door 2 years ago, I measured the width of the door opening to make sure my old fridge could be removed after getting a new door installed. I didn't want to have to deal with that nightmare in the future.
Me neither! I was just thinking about every-day living. Can't imagine moving huge bureaus up to a 3rd fl. master bedroom!
When I moved in, the movers had to take off 3 interior doors to move my huge couch into the back den. I plan on using to death, and taking a saw to it when it's time is up! No way it's moving back out in one piece.
Me neither! I was just thinking about every-day living. Can't imagine moving huge bureaus up to a 3rd fl. master bedroom!
When I moved in, the movers had to take off 3 interior doors to move my huge couch into the back den. I plan on using to death, and taking a saw to it when it's time is up! No way it's moving back out in one piece.
I had a 3rd floor apartment once. Never again! No elevators and the stairs were shaped like "U"s. So you'd go up from one landing halfway, go left on the landing a bit, turn left again and go up the rest of the stairs to the next set of apartments. That was a pain in the backside to move into. Having a third floor apartment was nice, but my next apartment was first floor and so much more relaxing to move in and out of.
per all the comments about stairs. Oh my goodness.......and it isn't just a pain in the azz for normal things but what about if you're injured,break a leg,have surgery,etc......
I rented a split level home prior to purchasing and that was a wake up to me about stairs. Everything you all have stated is true. Laundry included.............up and down stairs...........good exercise is the only positive I can come up with.
Never again for me though. I bought a ranch style home.
I'm just curious how newlyweds with a combined income of $60k can purchase a $400k house.
Hmmm.... I watch HH regularly. I must be getting a glass of water every time during the part of the show where they reveal the income level of the buyers.
per all the comments about stairs. Oh my goodness.......and it isn't just a pain in the azz for normal things but what about if you're injured,break a leg,have surgery,etc......
Yes! I think it was after I broke my leg that I finally got serious about house hunting -- and finding a house with a bathroom on the first floor! What a luxury that is, when you're used to dashing upstairs all the time. Not at all fun with a broken leg.
Hmmm.... I watch HH regularly. I must be getting a glass of water every time during the part of the show where they reveal the income level of the buyers.
True. They do usually reveal occupation, though, so sometimes you can make a guess. But I still hate seeing 20-somethings that can afford a half-million dollar house and my 30-something self in a two-income family can barely afford $200k.
My boyfriend (of 11 years) always comments on HH, "What do these people do? How can they afford that? They're like 25!"
I remind him that they got married. Most people I know who got married ended up with a LARGE sum of money, through wedding gifts, to put a big down payment on a house. We, on the other hand, decided to "shack up" and when we bought our house, we only had a piddly 10% to put down. So when we were 30, we were looking in the 200,000 range. I wryly remind him that If we'd been married we could have been shopping the 300,000 range. We could have had 70-80k to put down (like my sister and several friends did), and therefore we'd have been able to get a more expensive house, but oh well, I've never been one of those girls who issue ultimatums.
You can tell that a lot of those HH young couples came from families where they'd have gotten a very large amount of money through wedding gifts, with close relatives giving at least $1000, and others giving $200-$500 even if they're just co-workers or friends of the parents. I'm not even from a wealthy family, just lower-middle class perhaps. So my examples could be low for a middle-middle or upper-middle class young couple.
Don't get me wrong, those couples annoy me to no end, and I've commented extensively on that. I'm just saying that it's not all about them having some unbelievable income, but a big down payment. Now if they were smart, they would use that huge down payment and get a less expensive house,a nd pay it off quickly. But as we've seen most of them are just into more, more, more. Even if my boyfriend and I had been married and had 100,000 to put down, I still would have stayed in the 200,00 range for a house. But he being more like the HH couples would have wanted more, more, more.
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The stairs are indeed an issue. She also found out the condos are slow sellers due to the stairs. 
