The Townhouse Townhome Thread (Arlington, Alexandria: fit in, renters, HOA)

[Tiger Beer]

I think townhouse/townhome seems to vary from place to place. I honestly thought it was just another word for condo.

But now I see they are basically buildings that have shared side walls, but no else living above or below you. Completely different concept.

Speaking of which, all of the narrow homes without walls in DC...what would you call those? Rowhomes, right?

Townhouse by definition is a house that is narrow to fit in well with a town, I suppose.

But, from the looks of it, you have townhomes all over the place in NOVA. To my surprise, no maintenance fees or other hidden surprises which are quite unlike condos.

I was thinking from a SAFETY perspective, you'd have very close neighborhoods...so seems less likely someone would rob a towhouse or bother it....plus you only have a front side and back side, so the the sides themselves would be protected. Basically I see townhomes as being a bit safer in general from burglers, thiefs, and whatever else than a house exposed on four sides with nothing or no one around it. Just a bit of a side thought however.

How about NEIGHBOR issues? Do people you know in townhomes have neighbor issues? Bad neighbors, noisy neighbors, or whatever else? Imagine sometimes, but to what degree, and much different than a house...or same issues generally?

How about posters perspectives....would you ever live in a townhome, or refuse to live in one....and why or why not?

Anything else you want to add as well. Also, where do you find the most of them...and are they generally in communities that have other amenities nearby (restaurants, etc.) or are they a bit more stand alone with parking lots around them...much more similar to some random condo?

In your opinion, which are the best areas of NOVA (or MoCo for that matter) to get a townhouse...? Due to location or convieniences or easy on the eyes, etc.

[Caladium]

It's about how much of the common area is shared, not about the design of the building (although they do tend to differ in appearance). Sometimes a building will look like a townhouse, but is actually a condo if all the units share the same roof.

I'm not a realtor, but this is what I believe the difference is: condominium owners share more common areas (for example, stairs and hallways) than do townhome owners. Also, the rules enforced by high-rise condo associations are sometimes stiffer (maybe because residents are often living in closer quarters, with many more residents per square foot).

A condominium means you own an individual unit, plus a percentage of the surrounding property, including land and any amenities on the property.

A townhome means you own an individual unit, as well as the ground underneath that unit. Each townhome has its own roof, in contrast to condominiums. Townhouses are more likely to include individual garages and small backyards which owners are responsible for maintaining.

Both condo and townhouse owners belong to HOAs, but the dues for Townhome residents usually cover things like the general maintenance of common outdoor areas.

(Hope I got this right--any realtors on this board will hopefully correct my errors).

[Claire2900]

I was thinking from a SAFETY perspective, you'd have very close neighborhoods...so seems less likely someone would rob a towhouse or bother it....plus you only have a front side and back side, so the the sides themselves would be protected. Basically I see townhomes as being a bit safer in general from burglers, thiefs, and whatever else than a house exposed on four sides with nothing or no one around it. Just a bit of a side thought however.

Yes, but I also think proximity to many, many neighbors (and eyes) is a big deterent.

How about NEIGHBOR issues? Do people you know in townhomes have neighbor issues? Bad neighbors, noisy neighbors, or whatever else? Imagine sometimes, but to what degree, and much different than a house...or same issues generally?

The biggest difference for me was privacy. When your deck abuts to your neighbors..... I will say it's easier to meet the neighbors and in my experience chatted with them more frequently, etc. I certainly knew more of my neighbors.

How about posters perspectives....would you ever live in a townhome, or refuse to live in one....and why or why not?

In this area, it's more to do with affordability and availiability

TH's is this area are ubiquitous and builders in this area combine TH's, condos and SFH in the newer developments. Depending on what specific area your looking in, would depend on amenities nearby. Some TH communities might be small or large. It's too broad a question covering too many communities in the metro area. Most people decide on proximity to work, schools best suited for their family, budget, etc, and then see what their budget will buy in that area. TH's are just like SFH in that a good construction and non builder grade materials make a HUGE difference. We've got it all

[Caladium]

FWIW, my first house was a townhouse. I enjoyed living in it. Many townhouses are as well built and have as many qualities details as SFHs. Here in Cascades they have deluxe townhouses that sell for $850-$1 million or more (of course, we also have the more typical townhouses, too).

Townhouses appeal especially to people who don't want to care for yards. Which is a lot of people in the DC metro area. Many people travel a great deal. There are also a lot of people who maintain homes in 2 or more cities. People like that who are away for long periods of time tend to like townhomes better. There are also people who enjoy density--that's another group that likes condos and townhomes.

SFHs appeal more to people who enjoy gardening, or who want yards for kids and pets, or who just want space between them and their neighbors (for an assortment of reasons).

The biggest downside to a townhouse, IMO, is your neighbors tend to be just a little more transitional. You may buy a unit and really love your neighbors for the first year or so. But people move out and you don't always like the new neighbors as much. Of course, this can happen in a SFH neighborhood too, but it affects you more with a condo/townhouse since your neighbors are so close to you. Also, if you share a wall, you sometimes also share things like insect infestations.

[cdmurphy]

In my neighborhood, townhouses tend to house younger couples, with or without children (though there are plenty of exceptions). I know more than a few couples who bought townhouses here back in 2003/2004, then sold them a couple of years later during the boom and rolled their profits over into a single-family downpayment in the same neighborhood. The townhouse sections are pretty tight - people really know their neighbors, more so than in the single family homes. But that can also be a downside - everyone knows your business because it's happening right outside their home.

In our neighborhood, all of our ADUs (Affordable Dwelling Units) are townhouses in the same section; some people might be wary of that. Also, there seem to be a lot of renters in the townhouses, either because the owners bought them to be investments, or the owners lived in them for a while, moved up to a single-family, but couldn't sell them and settled for renting them out. Some renters just don't care for a property the way the owner would - especially maintaining exteriors to meet the neighborhood covenants.

I have a lot of friends who live in townhouses (here and in other parts of the area) and I've really only ever heard one horror story which would sway me against a townhouse; someone's water heater burst and flooded their basement and their neighbors' basements too. Of course their homeowners insurance covered it but their premiums went up (and nowadays, such a claim might get your policy cancelled too). I would also worry about fire spreading quickly.

For a lot of NoVAns a townhouse is a more likely starter home than a single family detached. However, there are some townhouses here that are as big as my house - and sometimes I am jealous of their relative freedom from lawn maintenance.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Speaking of which, all of the narrow homes without walls in DC...what would you call those? Rowhomes, right?

In NoVa they're called "townhouses". In DC, Philly, and New York City they're typically called "rowhomes" (and of course, Brooklyn has their "brownstones"). What I have not seen in NoVA are "duplexes" (1-shared wall and 3-sides open).

But, from the looks of it, you have townhomes all over the place in NOVA. To my surprise, no maintenance fees or other hidden surprises which are quite unlike condos.

Newer townhouses in a development will have an HOA fee.

I was thinking from a SAFETY perspective, you'd have very close neighborhoods...so seems less likely someone would rob a towhouse or bother it....plus you only have a front side and back side, so the the sides themselves would be protected. Basically I see townhomes as being a bit safer in general from burglers, thiefs, and whatever else than a house exposed on four sides with nothing or no one around it. Just a bit of a side thought however.

Not really. Maybe if 2-sides also means the lack of windows that a 4-sided house would have (which also means less light). Burglars eyeball weak houses that can easily be broken into. Of course, a SFH with 4-sides and one side masked by trees or hills may/may not be an easier target.

How about NEIGHBOR issues? Do people you know in townhomes have neighbor issues? Bad neighbors, noisy neighbors, or whatever else?

If you like your neighbors, good. If you can't stand them, bad. You are sharing 2 walls with other families so depending on the building, you might hear things, smell someone's dinner, etc.

How about posters perspectives....would you ever live in a townhome, or refuse to live in one....and why or why not?

My first home in NoVA was a townhouse, built in a new development. I enjoyed it quite a bit. My neighbors were pretty good; no one mean or nasty, at the most just a little weird. It was good when you travel though as they would keep in eye on the house for me.

[katyusha25]

Even though I only rent a room in a townhome, I consider myself lucky that it's an end unit, and my bedroom does not share a wall with the next unit.

Also in this neighborhood, I can't just be lazy and let my dogs outside to go potty (like I could in the backyard of my house); I have to get my butt out there with them and walk them on their leashes =/

[robbobobbo]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

In NoVa they're called "townhouses". In DC, Philly, and New York City they're typically called "rowhomes" (and of course, Brooklyn has their "brownstones"). What I have not seen in NoVA are "duplexes" (1-shared wall and 3-sides open).

I don't think there are duplexes being built in NoVa now, but there are older ones. The city of Alexandria has quite a few, mixed in with SFHs on the same street.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

I don't think there are duplexes being built in NoVa now, but there are older ones. The city of Alexandria has quite a few, mixed in with SFHs on the same street.

We have a bunch out here in Winchester. I think that once upon a time they were SFHs and then landlords divided them in half. Most of them are older, late 1800s, early 1900s. They don't "look" bad but in South Jersey some of them are painted 2 different colors so each half doesn't match each other!

[bmwguydc]

Arlington has duplexes too, as does the City of Fairfax. Some of them are odd, though, since they predate HOAs, so one half can be a completely different color siding/shutters. The duplexes in Burke do not suffer that aesthetic issue as they are uniform in appearance on each side. They look more like single-family housing.