townhome vs house chicago suburbs (Palatine, Northbrook: apartment, HOA fees, insurance)

[chitown202020]

My budget is only 230,000 we have no kids and only need two bedrooms. I always wanted privacy but since my budget is so small am I better off settling for a nicer townhome or getting an older smaller two bedroom house with most likely only one bathroom. Looking in NW Burbs around palatine.

I am an artist and always wanted my own workspace I am a little worried about not being able to listen to music as loud as I want in a town home but I can do it living in an apartment the last ten years.

[pvande55]

Town home has less land so the appreciation will be less - if you expect property values to increase. But by the same token your property taxes will be lower, a big plus with the high tax rate and limited write off on your income tax. Go with the town home.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by chitown202020

My budget is only 230,000 we have no kids and only need two bedrooms. I always wanted privacy but since my budget is so small am I better off settling for a nicer townhome or getting an older smaller two bedroom house with most likely only one bathroom. Looking in NW Burbs around palatine.

I am an artist and always wanted my own workspace I am a little worried about not being able to listen to music as loud as I want in a town home but I can do it living in an apartment the last ten years.

I had a relatively small budget for my area too and started out looking at single family homes. I’m single, so like you I didn’t need a 3/2 like most people. I ended up with a 3/1 ranch with a large unfinished basement that has the opportunity to add in another bathroom and work area for sewing/crafts in the basement in the future. I was lucky to find something right away.

I’d get with a realtor and say you’d like to start with single family homes. If you don’t find anything you like quickly, go ahead and expand the search. From my experience, lenders were likely to approve less for townhomes because the taxes + fees usually ended up being more than just the taxes alone for the single family home. I saw a lot of townhomes that charged $300 in fees and were basically just doing exterior maintenance, landscaping, trash, and snow removal with no amenities, which was more than I was spending in a beach community in FL for pool maintenance, trash, year round landscaping with community sprinklers, and exterior insurance that was much much more expensive.

[WildSpark]

I'd get a house ALL day over a town home. A town home is more expensive than a home with a small yard! I recently made the mistake of getting into a townhome in Northbrook with a $400/month HOA. After moving in, they've driven up the monthly HOA rates, refuse to provide dirt/gravel after mudjacking the back porch (which I had to pay for) and other exterior expenses. They've been outright hostile when submitting a work order request to have my front bushes trimmed. No one deserves this level of stress just to have a decent looking yard!

In my last house, it only cost $25/week to have my large lawn cut and I was charged for snow removal only when I wanted it. I'm also right on top of my neighbors. I smell my neighbors weed that blows directly into my bedroom window at night.
I'm selling this mistake of a townhome in the spring. Life lesson learned!

[ST29]

Since you have no kids (Assuming school districts is not an issue) and looking for a 2-bedroom. You can actually find some decent single homes for that price in Palatine. The market is somewhat shot right now but you should be able to find something. With townhomes I would worry about the HOA fees.