[smarino]

No, I would not chose "owning" a townhouse over renting a stand alone house. You lose your yard, you will probably have people living within 6" to 12" of you, on top, on the side and below, the owners have very little input on what the board decides, so you have very little control over your place actually, and you may be surrounded by renters, as anyone can rent to someone unless it's specifically forbidden in the HOA. There's nothing better than having your own home w/ a yard, and having the neighbors a reasonable distance away.

If you get disabled or have health issues, then a condo/townhouse may make more sense because of the upkeep that a home requires.

[bobandsherry]

Honestly, there is no one answer that's right. I guess you have to share first what's important to you.

Townhouse vs. Single Family Home
When considering townhome vs. stand alone home, do you want/need a yard and want to maintain it yourself? Or would a yard that's "common" area be OK (you can use it as you need/want to) but then the HOA maintains that property? The real difference of owning a single family home is the level of maintenance YOU have to put into maintaining your investment. Do you have the time and means (either ability or financial resources) to maintain your home? Single family homes take more time and effort to maintain. If the small repairs aren't done you eventually end up in a home with deferred maintenance which will affect the value of the home. As I'll note below, even if you maintain your home a neighbor's lack of timely maintenance can also impact your home value. If you are someone who is not DIY handy or tend to ignore repairs until they become a disaster, then a condo/townhouse may be better for you.

HOA vs Non-HOA
As one looks at an HOA vs. non-HOA decision, you have to decide what's important to you. As example, do you want/need to do WHATEVER you want on your property (and keep in mind that your neighbors then can do WHATEVER they want), or do you want the community to adhere to a set of rules and regulations?

As someone who has lived in now three HOA communities and several non-HOA, my preference is to be in HOA. In non-HOA I've seen people park commercial trucks, junk cars and large RV's in the driveways. I've seen neighbors who don't maintain their lawn and eventually the code enforcement has to take action. I've seen homes with very large and inappropriate ornamental decorations on their lawn. I've seen ugly a$$ paint colors on a home. I've seen homes that were not maintained with windows, doors, siding, etc that needed attention but the trashy neighbor seemed to think it added charm to their home. I've seen neighbors who had hard time selling their home, which looked great, because the house next to them or behind them looked like trash.

On the other hand I've seen examples of the HOA Board overstepping what would be considered reasonable common sense. However, get involved and those people can be easily removed (that's how I ended up on a Board for 6 years), only removed from the Board as I sold my home. HOA helps to preserve home values by maintaining common elements in the community and holding homeowners to a reasonable level of care of their home. BTW, all the rules, regulations, bylaws and declarations of an HOA are clearly documented and should be available to review prior to making a purchase. If you don't take the time to read them, then shame on you. If you don't like to be held to what is clearly documented then shame on you for buying in an area which has rules that you can't live with. What I typically see are those who are hell bent against HOA's are those who want to do something that is against most HOA rules and regulations (such as parking a boat/camper in their driveway).

As I purchased my new home I chose a community with HOA once again. Yep, given a choice I still have no problem paying a little to live in a community that holds their homeowners to a reasonable standard for their homes. No one right answer for everyone, but if you have problems conforming to rules an HOA is not the right choice for you.

[chopchop0]

Yes imo location trumps type of structure. Just understand specifics of a th esp with an hoa if that's the case

[Restrain]

In our case, we had to have a place to store a bunch of stuff, 3 dogs, etc, and no stairs. So dealing with a HOA, always walking the dogs, etc, just not for us. Conversely, our neighbor just sold her home and downsized, moving into a condo nearby. No maintenance, and she is a single woman, no pets.

[aridon]

Id consider it. Would depend on location, rules, construction, price, dues etc

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by smarino

No, I would not chose "owning" a townhouse over renting a stand alone house. You lose your yard, you will probably have people living within 6" to 12" of you, on top, on the side and below, the owners have very little input on what the board decides, so you have very little control over your place actually, and you may be surrounded by renters, as anyone can rent to someone unless it's specifically forbidden in the HOA. There's nothing better than having your own home w/ a yard, and having the neighbors a reasonable distance away.

If you get disabled or have health issues, then a condo/townhouse may make more sense because of the upkeep that a home requires.

None of that is true; the board is comprised of the homeowners. If you have apathetic homeowners then the boards' decisions are on you.

Bylaws are created by the homeowners especially regarding renters.

No need for the quotation marks around townhouse - you own it.

You also OWN a condo. AND the common property it sits on. By Florida law, should a condo HOA decide to sell (or become NOT an HOA), the proceeds are divided among the homeowners eventually.

Lastly, you're responding to a thread from 2008 that someone bumped but you ignored their question LOL.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Peter Franklin

I have a client that owes me money in the UK,he has a 4 Bed town house in Kisseemee its around 10 years old in very good condition. I have the opportunity of taking the property in exchange for the money owing.
What legal implications and costs would be involved.
Would i be better keeping it then renting,or selling and recoope my money,as its value is around $200,000

You go to a real estate attorney to represent you in the matter. It can get tricky - like a quit claim. Google that.

There could be a million things that go wrong like outstanding claims against the property. Or your taxes. Sometimes people buy a property to flip at auction, then after some time they get a bill for say, a roofer or someone who has a lien on the property and THEY have to pay it.

Once you own the place with a clear title, etc, - you can sell it if you don't want to be a landlord.

For that decision you can partner with an experienced realtor to advise you or a management company who may manage it as an investment property including finding, screening, collecting $$$ and managing tenants. Can be quite a PITA if you're not suited for it. You pay a certain % per month for their service.

Not to be confused with a realtor who simply finds you a tenant once or twice a year but doesn't really MANAGE the day to day workings of the property.

Kind of weird the guy isn't willing to just SELL the property then pay you if he owns it free and clear. So I would't get all excited about this deal LOL.

I'm sure if he has judgments and liens against HIMSELF for totally unrelated debts, he's not going to just be able to transfer that property to you and you walk away in the clear.

I got scammed by a homeowner in Hollywood FL for $2700 in a rental deal....when the detectives and I checked the guy out he had 140 court cases on the Broward docket and so many liens I'd NEVER EVER get my money back even if I pursued action in court.

[Thundarr457]

For one big reason I would never own a townhouse and that can be summed up in one word "stairs"

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Muggy

I have serious reservations about buying a property with an HOA. I know some of the horror stories, but if you could buy a townhouse that was cheaper, nicer, and larger than your rental home, would you?

No.

[Runninglikethieves]

No, I wouldn't buy a townhouse personally.

There's plenty of cheaper options for single family homes here in Florida, than for me to have ever wanted to buy a townhome or condo. And I own a single family home. If it was vacation property, I might be a condo/townhome.

If I were single and maybe older, I would buy a condo/townhome. I've got no problems with them, it just doesn't make sense for me right now. Which is funny, because I did buy my house when I was single.