Townhomes are everywhere in Fairfax, but does anyone like living in them? (HOA, townhouses)

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by car54

One I hadn't thought of befell a girl at work recently. Kids in the townhouse next door somehow started a roaring fire that destroyed their unit and severely damaged my co-workers unit. And this was older construction with a masonry firewall...not that cheap "fireproof" drywall stuff they use nowadays. It didn't matter anyway as the fire jumped over and ignited her roof. She will be in a hotel for many months....

If there hadn't been firewalls your co-workers unit would've gone up much quicker and been completely destroyed and maybe even the entire complex. They aren't going to completely protect a TH if the adjacent one has a 4 alarm blaze because as you saw the fire can cross the roof line but they help immensely to slow it down so people can get out and emergency crews can fight it.

[car54]

Originally Posted by Megadell

That's what I'm thinking. I mean, how common is it for entire blocks of townhouses to burn down due to one person?

The fire only involved three units, out of 8 or 10.

I agree that catastrophic townhouse fires are not common...but the risk of it is just another on a long list of drawbacks, IMO.

[jillybean720]

Eh, you can have noisy neighbors in SFHs, too. My current neighbor on one side has a pool, and they like to party with loud music a lot on summer nights. I wouldn't worry about it much except that I've got little kids trying to go to sleep at 8pm.

When we lived in a townhouse, we had an awesome neighbor on one side. We'd take turns mowing each other's lawns (since the lawns were so small), we helped shovel each other's sidewalks in winter, we helped each other out with parking when needed (that was actually the worst thing about townhouse life for me personally: the very limited parking for guests). Our neighbor on the other side was fine for a while until they moved out and a new renter moved in with 2 adults and 4 kids in a 2-bedroom townhouse. They would blast their tv so loud it would shake my wall, and they would ignore requests to turn it down. They would actually peek out through the blinds on the door when we knocked and then refuse to open the door. We called the police a few times, the HOA...it was not fun. But I believe we got pretty unlucky, and most neighbors are not that bad.

[LetsRock]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

Eh, you can have noisy neighbors in SFHs, too. My current neighbor on one side has a pool, and they like to party with loud music a lot on summer nights. I wouldn't worry about it much except that I've got little kids trying to go to sleep at 8pm.

When we lived in a townhouse, we had an awesome neighbor on one side. We'd take turns mowing each other's lawns (since the lawns were so small), we helped shovel each other's sidewalks in winter, we helped each other out with parking when needed (that was actually the worst thing about townhouse life for me personally: the very limited parking for guests). Our neighbor on the other side was fine for a while until they moved out and a new renter moved in with 2 adults and 4 kids in a 2-bedroom townhouse. They would blast their tv so loud it would shake my wall, and they would ignore requests to turn it down. They would actually peek out through the blinds on the door when we knocked and then refuse to open the door. We called the police a few times, the HOA...it was not fun. But I believe we got pretty unlucky, and most neighbors are not that bad.

Nothing worse than a redneck family with an above-ground pool or a trampoline.

[lovnova]

Originally Posted by LetsRock

Nothing worse than a redneck family with an above-ground pool or a trampoline.

It can get a lot worse than that!

[LetsRock]

Originally Posted by lovnova

It can get a lot worse than that!

Yeah, I forgot about the illegal auto repair service in the driveway or the basketball rim in the cul-de-sac.

[bluef250]

Originally Posted by Curious Discussion

Will I hear my neighbors through thin walls?

Will cars and motorcycles make noise in the parking lot outside my townhouse all night?

Will the neighbors be terrible because we are going to live in an area with lower cost homes?

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIVING IN A TOWNHOUSE?

I know your question was about townhouse living, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I live in apartment that is very much like a townhouse. Difficult to describe, but I'll just say this: I don't have neighbors above me, but only next to me on either side. The townhouses in the development next to my apartment look very similar.

My problem is this: cars and motorcycles that make noise in the parking lot outside my apartment. My next door neighbor likes to sit in her car for hours on end with the engine running. Two apartments down (again, it's a shared parking lot), there is some folks that make a rucus with their motorcycles. For the most part, I can't hear the neighbors beyond this. BTW, I have complained to the landlord about both neighbors... certainly the one idling their vehicle for hours on end day after day!

Doubtful cost has anything to do with the quality of neighbors. Not sure of the power of an HOA, but... that might be your best bet?

[Ffxdata]

Originally Posted by bluef250

I know your question was about townhouse living, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I live in apartment that is very much like a townhouse. Difficult to describe, but I'll just say this: I don't have neighbors above me, but only next to me on either side. The townhouses in the development next to my apartment look very similar.

My problem is this: cars and motorcycles that make noise in the parking lot outside my apartment. My next door neighbor likes to sit in her car for hours on end with the engine running. Two apartments down (again, it's a shared parking lot), there is some folks that make a rucus with their motorcycles. For the most part, I can't hear the neighbors beyond this. BTW, I have complained to the landlord about both neighbors... certainly the one idling their vehicle for hours on end day after day!

Doubtful cost has anything to do with the quality of neighbors. Not sure of the power of an HOA, but... that might be your best bet?

This seems like an issue of population density. The more apartments/condos, the more people meaning there is more of a possibility of problem people.

[livinfairfax]

I think the latest trend is townhouse-style condos since it requires minimal outside work. I hate townhouses, especially the ones that are extremely tall with 3+ floors with basically a room on each floor. I find these a lot especially close to yellow metro line south of Pentagon. I would rather want a 2 floor single home or a 1st floor condo.

[LetsRock]

Originally Posted by livinfairfax

I think the latest trend is townhouse-style condos since it requires minimal outside work. I hate townhouses, especially the ones that are extremely tall with 3+ floors with basically a room on each floor. I find these a lot especially close to yellow metro line south of Pentagon. I would rather want a 2 floor single home or a 1st floor condo.

That is why I only consider 20-24 foot wide TH's.