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We currently live in South Grafton where we moved 3 years ago. My son will start Kindergarten next year and we have another baby on the way due early next year. Currently we live in a detached one acre Single Family ~$350K and are wondering if a move to newish town homes in Hopkinton with similar indoor living size (maybe Legacy Farms) which cost around $480K-$500K is worth it. We are thinking of making the move next summer before my son starts KG and starts making new friends. There will definitely be marginal gains but I am not sure if it is worth spending extra $150K for these benefits. Just wanted to hear different perspectives.
Some background & random thoughts:
We both work near 95 belt and moving to Hopkinton will shave 15-20 mins off our commute each way. Right now we commute together but will do so separately after baby is born and wife goes back to work so at least once of us is around at home sooner after school, etc. We live in a detached home and will move to a development which I think will be beneficial for my son in case he wants to play around with other kids in the evenings. Currently he has no friends in our neighborhood but that may change once he starts going to school. Hopkinton schools are rated higher than Grafton - but not sure by how much? I can switch to gas heating instead of oil that I have presently. I don't mind the yard work presently but I definitely don't enjoy it either. Of course I could outsource it to a contractor next year.
We will be paying $1000 extra per month (mortgage plus condo fees) give and take the savings we get from saving gas and switching from oil, etc, we can just about afford it but it will greatly reduce our spending money and also maybe kid's education funding. In a way retirement fund also but we are from India and will most likely go back there so dollar will go further. We will lose out on all the extra outdoor space but then again I don't remember spending quality time on the deck or in the yard last couple of years. Usually we come home and crash in front of the TV. We could buy a single family in the same price range but those homes will be older and we have no inclination to do repairs, upgrades, etc this time around (that was the case with the last 2 places we lived). But town homes have its disadvantages - shared wall (we don't mind but then again we never lived in a townhome), HOA fees (especially if they keep rising every year or if we are hit with assessments), no private outdoor space, wont retain value, etc.
So I guess my question is - is it worth spending extra $150K to move from Grafton SF to Hopkinton town home? Will it make a difference in my kids' lives with regards to schooling and neighbourhood? Does it make sense to go to a top school district with little savings for colleges or an ok school with extra savings for college? Is it worth the effort? Am I thinking too much
My initial reaction is don't do it. Based on your description, the price tag seems awfully high relative to the benefits and downsides. If you are happy in your current home and community, it may not be worth re-shuffling the deck.
I just moved from a single family to a townhouse and can't wait to live in my own house again. I just don't think townhouses are ideal with a family. The difference in the feel between SF and TH is more pronounced than I expected. The place I live now doesn't look too different from the townhouses at Legacy Farms.
There is no question that the Hopkinton schools have higher MCAS score etc. than Grafton and Hopkinton is a more affluent community. However, I'm sure your kids can get a very good education at Grafton schools. Hopkinton is an excellent school district; Grafton is a very good one.
Unless there is something you dislike about where you are now or there is something you really like about where you'd be moving to, I don't think its worth it. You're going to pay a lot more for what may prove to be a downgrade in housing for a slightly better school district and somewhat shorter commute.
Congrats. My perspective has always been that family time is more important than other things in life. And being close to your kids during the work day, much easier for all involved.
With second kid, any less commute time is better for all. Also, you are still inexperienced in public school and its demands, and trust me, with two kids, and different schedules and needs, less consuming commute, and getting ready in the morning, the better. Especially, if you will be driving kid to school as well. Life is about to get lot more complicated with your new baby, let alone whole new ball game of entering public school arena.
I would not buy TH in suburban community. I would look for the best, even if smallish updated home I can afford, and go from there. SF is always better resale in family oriented neighborhood. Hopkinton is town where you can still get good value, and very good schools. Better resale than S. Grafton by far. Your gamble is that even if you stay put right now, you might find that you do not like schools, and will have to move anyway. In a few years you might be priced out since your home is in the area that is not sought after, but Hopkinton is becuase of the community and schools. Only you can decide what is the best course of action.
You have nice opportunity to start fresh and be home early, but rethink your strategy about TH if possible.
I was in a similar situation last year when I was deciding between a townhome in a "better" town (Lincoln) vs a single family house in a "lesser" town (Sudbury). I chose the single family house because it gave us more freedom. My post got quite a few replies so you can skim through that if you'd like:
You can look up the school bus route for the elementary school that's zoned to both your house in Grafton and to the townhouses in Hopkinton (assuming both locations qualify for the bus). Then call the school bus coordinator to find out how many kids are picked up from that particular stop. That will give you an idea of how many kids live in each neighborhood. In my case, the 60+ unit complex in Lincoln only had 3 kids IIRC, whereas my small neighborhood in Sudbury (about 10 homes on 2 streets) has 9 elementary aged kids. Quite a big difference between a neighborhood of SFH vs a townhouse complex. Families generally don't move into townhouses in suburbs outside of 128.
A lot of young families transition from condo or townhouse to a single family home when the second child arrives. More space, a yard to play in, family coming to visit. Entertaining larger groups of people is certainly easier in a SF home. So, in some ways moving from a detached home to a townhouse as your family is growing seems a little "backwards."
However, there are some instances where a townhouse makes more sense. If you have a demanding job with a lot of travel, you're not going to have the free time to do yard work on weeknights or mow on weekends. Many people who don't want to deal with maintaining landscaping and their yard prefer townhouse because it removes those tasks from your life and you can focus on doing the things you enjoy on the weekends. When our children were younger, we had a large home on 1 acre property. It was quite idyllic, but at the same time we were much further from cultural happenings in the city, and I often felt a slave to the yard and all the work. A big yard is often best for those that truly enjoy gardening, landscaping etc. And the privacy it brings. If you often spend time on your deck, you may not like a townhouse.
SF homes hold value better and tend to appreciate in value faster than townhouse. Many TH complexes get saddled with high association fees and that suppresses the resale value. The other issue with TH complexes are rentals. Definitely know the % of rentals, if its 50% rentals I would avoid it. SF home rentals are much less common in Suburbia. With a townhouse, you have shared walls. This means if you are unlucky and have a noisy neighbor, you could end up being unhappy with the noise coming from next door.
As far as your commute, do you hate your commute? A long (over an hour) drive can wear on your over the years. The traffic causes stress and it sucks up your time. What is your time worth? What would you do with an extra hour each day?
I've been living in a SF home now for 10+ years and it will be very hard to go back to a townhouse.
Thanks for all the feedback. I will put any thoughts of moving on hold during the winter and revisit early next year. Meanwhile I will try to find out as much about schools as I can.
South Grafton Resident here as of last May. We looked at Hopkinton also when we were house hunting but our money went further in South Graftom. We got brand new construction, 3 bedrooms / 2 baths, 1 car garage for 320K.
In Hopkinton that would give us homes that need some TLC and we are not handy, and we did not want to go over 350k. South Grafton schools are not rated as high as Hopkinton schools but we believe with parent involvement, our future kids (currently DINKS and hopefully will change by end of 2015) will get a solid education in South Grafton.
We did have the townhouse vs SF discussion when we were looking. I dislike yard maintenance also which is why I told my agent 0.5 acres or below... I am not handy which is why we went with new (all things that would have pushed us towards townhomes) but the price tags made the difference.
I could not convince myself to spend over 300K and get into a townhome. For that price I wanted a HOUSE. I would only consider townhomes if they were priced significantly lower (200-250k). Weird way of thinking and it drove my wife nuts, but to me it made no sense to drop that kind of money on a townhouse when I could buy a house.
I would move to Hopkinton............but not to a townhome.... I would not give up a single family house for a TH especially when you have children.
I'd rather the condo fees go towards my mortgage.
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