Rowhouse vs Townhouse (roof, townhouses, apartment, condo)

[emotiioo]

The townhouse thread got me thinking...

We own a few houses I would describe as "rowhouses" in various east coast cities. They are older, tend toward Italianate design, some are modest and some are much more elegant. We live in one currently.

However recently someone at work called my current abode a "townhouse." I had never thought of it that way but I guess they are correct in that characterization. I only share a single wall and my house is quite old, but if I had to check a box to describe it between single family home, condo, townhouse or apartment, townhouse is closest.

I always think a rowhouse as being urban and more antique, and a townhouse as being suburban and more modern. But they are both dwellings that share a wall, tend to be more narrow facing the street and are multiple stories.

So are they the same thing to you? Is there any distinction between the two? If you were listing a house for sale, would you use the terms interchangeably?

[Yippeekayay]

People can get crazy on this. LOL

I keep it simple..if horizontal, like rowhouses, then townhouse; if vertical (i.e., another unit under or above yours) then condo.

[Nov3]

Yeah....in a revival area they call it townhomes.

Not my cup of tea ...it's a Domino fire waiting to happen.

[rational1]

A rose by any other name...

[marino760]

I recently started a thread about this very topic and also did my own research. What I learned is that they are NOT the same.

If you buy a row house, you own the land below it and also the roof. They are your responsibility to maintain just like a single family home. Sometimes but not often, the land is leased so you pay rent on the land but own the house. There is usually no HOA.
With a townhouse you own nothing but the space inside the walls. The roof is one continuous structure and you do not own the land the house sits on. Townhouses always have an HOA.

//www.city-data.com/forum/house...ey-same-4.html
From the previous thread on this subject

"town house have common walls, common roofs and common areas. only the inside of your unit is yours.

row house, only the common wall is shared. the land it is built on, the front yard, back yard, space above it is yours. so you can demolish your row house and build another in its place.

for townhouse, you can not do that"

When listed for sale, a townhouse has it's own category. A row house is listed as a single family home, not a townhouse.

[marino760]

This is a good example of a row house currently for sale. It's listed as a single family home. Since it's at the end of the row, the person buying this house will own the exterior walls on 3 sides. He/she will also own the land it sits on and the roof. This would not be possible with a townhouse.