Howard County Townhomes (Columbia: real estate, HOA fees, condo)

[calebs]

After perusing the real estate listings I noticed that one (popular) housing option in Columbia is that of the townhome. I see numerous town homes listed in the 300K and 400K range. I was wondering if anyone might comment on the quality of construction (also if you'd kindly mention the date of construction)?

How's the noise with adjacent units?

Average condo fees?

thanks a million!

[sabreu]

We have a TH off Snowden River Parkway in Columbia. I'm not sure who the original builder was (I was 3rd owner). It was built in 1996. We have been in here since 2002. So far, we have had no structural issues at all. My concern when we bought was the original water piping used throughout the house was Polybutylene -- which is apparently supposed to be bad. We have had no issues with it. My Father was a plumber and he did not recommend it, but also said that there were different 'grades' of this stuff and since ours was from one of the last years it was used (1996) it was of better quality than most. All the homes in our neighborhood have this type of piping.

We have upgraded all the flooring in the house to wood/tile on main level and new carpeting on the other two. We have a sturdy fence and deck which were here when we purchased, and we have added a patio inside the fence. All sound quality.

I NEVER hear my neighbors which have two early teen age girls. I guess they insulated this place well, but I have been in other TH's in other neighborhoods where you could hear the TV next door! We also are an end unit, so we have only one neighbor and this could be helping.

We are just about to sell our house and will be putting it on the market for $399K. Other interior units have sold here for $385 - $390K. You are correct about the range of prices. Although, I haven't seen too many TH's in Columbia for over $410 -- unless you go with new-er construction. (Which is hard to find.)

Good Luck!

[sabreu]

Oh, we also pay (I think) $320 per year for the HOA which covers your basic snow/trash removal, planting flowers at the entrance, and lawn maintenance of the common areas. There is no other 'condo' fee.

[calebs]

Thanks for your comments!

[scoutsadie]

My husband and I are shopping for a TH in Columbia, so we've visited quite a few of these in Owen Brown and King's Contrivance the past few months. The majority of the ones we've seen have been around 20 years old, and HOA fees around $200/month. We haven't bought anything yet because we've been waiting to sell our condo, but we've mostly been happy with the options we've seen.

[mrodrigo]

I have a townhouse in Howard County, Maryland. Route 32 runs behind my house. I used to hear traffic passing (even with the wooded strip behind my house operating as a sound buffer) and then I got used to all these sounds. It is really not so bad. Recently I installed new R-10 windows and I am highly pleased with the noise reduction. Can barely hear anything now. It is a costly project, but fully worth it.

The new townhouses on Guilford Road (Oakhurst II) look great...

Good Luck!

[jelenap]

We've noticed that some new construction townhomes have electric outlets in the floors. Turns out that the walls are so thin that there is no space in between.