Townhouse vs Single Family (Boston: condo, appliances, how much)

[Parsec]

I wanted to get the opinion of other young families on the forum. Would you rather live in a townhouse community or a single family house with everything else being fairly equal? They are in different towns, but both have top-10 school systems in Mass. They are the same size and have the same monthly payment after factoring in the HOA.

Townhouse: The one I'm considering has mostly senior citizens and only 3 kids ride the school bus from this complex of over 100 units. It sits right on a private lake with water views from the living room. There is canoe and fishing access for residents. No landscaping or yard work will free up about 4 hours of my weekend to spend with my family! The cons that I'm thinking about are the fact that my kids are going to grow up in a semi-rural community of senior citizens and no friends nearby. This complex is nestled between the water and conservation land.

Single family house: I would buy one in a family-friendly neighborhood with mostly 1-acre lots. I'll have my own private yard and there should be kids from school within walking distance. There are also more things to do in town when the kids grow up. However, this town is farther away from Boston and will add 20 minutes to my commute. Besides losing 40 minutes per day on my daily commute, I will also lose 4 hours per weekend maintaining my huge yard.

Opinions please!

[kingeorge]

Young kids and senior citizens will not mix well (some are nice but most do not want to deal with kids and kids noise anymore). Your kids when they are bit older might be in "trouble" for any issue or noise around complex. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

Young kids and senior citizens will not mix well (some are nice but most do not want to deal with kids and kids noise anymore). Your kids when they are bit older might be in "trouble" for any issue or noise around complex. Good luck with whatever you decide.

You took the words out of my mouth. I was about to post the same thing.

[mmyk72]

Ditto. Also, you have 3 kids - where are they going to play and scream after school and on weekends? Is there enough yard space in that townhouse or are they going to be an annoyance for the neighbors when they do that... With a house and the big yard, the kids are free to run around screaming at the top of their lungs without neighbors getting annoyed.

Also, are you sharing a common wall with neighbors in the TH. If so, the thumping noise from kids jumping and running around in the house will not go well for the neighbors.

[joe moving]

I think the house sounds better for your family. Here is my thought. location, location, location.

4 hours for maintaining a lawn seems like an over statement. Now, I didn't have 1 acre, but is it all grass? How long will it really take to mow that? how much would it cost to hire landscapers JUST to mow and blow?

[accufitgolf]

Few townhouse developments/associations will allow anything outside like swing sets, toys, etc. thus the nippers could be limited in activities.

[Mordi]

Most townhouses don't work well lfor kids because they are too narrow. Vertical living is tough with young kids. If they are in their teens, it might be possible

[MikePRU]

I also think that you would prefer to live in a single family home. HOA's can sometimes be difficult to live with and if you're not a person who likes to abide by other people's rules it can result in a miserable living situation. I also find HOA's often have rules that limit things that kids like to do such as leave toys out, run/bike around the neighborhood, and generally be loud. If you do decide to live in a townhouse, I would advise taking a CLOSE look at the condo docs before committing to make sure you fully understand and are on board with the rules & regulations you will need to abide by.

Is there maybe a third possiblity here? Perhaps a single family on a smaller lot and perhaps the house is a little smaller but you're closer in to Boston? Maybe we're already talking about a 900 sf home. I have no idea.

I'm not sure if you fall into this category but . . . one thing I find with buyers today is that they often think things like stainless steel appliances and granite counters are a necessity. It's probably from watching too much HGTV. If you're willing to buy a house that's a little dated, it can help you get into a better location. Updating can be done over time so long as the older items are in good shape and functional.

[wheelz]

"only 3 kids ride the school bus from this complex of over 100 units."

This alone should answer your question, plus, I would think 4 hours per weekend is a little extreme. Buy yourself a riding lawnmower and rip out the shrubs. LOL!

[BuyWithHeather]

My vote is for single family.