$400K to spend: Townhouse or 1950s style Single Family Detached home? (rental, maintenance)

[acgood]

TH HOA fees will be in the range of 60-150/month or so (depending on if you have a pool). This would usually include trash and snow removal but not water and sewer. Figure something like $100 quarterly for the latter.

[FCNova]

I wouldn't be able to select one option as a definite favorite, it just depends on the attributes of the particular TH or SFH you're looking at. We were house hunting 4 years ago and looked at both townhomes and detached homes in our price range. Obviously all things being equal we would've selected a house but things weren't equal and each one we looked at had different qualities. Although we liked some of the houses we saw we ultimately fell in love with a townhouse and bought it. No regrets, it's a great neighborhood and we love the townhouse. It's been very low maintenance too. No yard work, reasonable utility bills, no expensive maintenance issues. Some of the older houses we saw just screamed money pit. Although we plan to probably eventually move to a detached home for a bigger yard many families in our TH neighborhood have raised their kids there.

Also I personally value location over square footage because I've come to realize we really don't need as much as we think we do and I hate long commutes so moving further out for a newer house was never an option.

[Mnseca]

Townhouse, for sure. However, if the townhouse had no common areas, playgrounds, or anywhere outside for a child to go, I might consider the house. But old houses are such a pain - really difficult and expensive to maintain. I sometimes wish we still lived in our townhouse instead of our 70's era never-ending fixer-upper. So I'd do the townhouse so long as there was a nice area for my child to play.

[weezycom]

I like the old house better. When I was in the market, I was facing a similar choice. I ended up buying the house, and am very glad I did. At the time I purchased, TH & SFH in the same general area were selling for nearly even prices. When the recession hit, my SFH took less of a hit than the TH market and bounced back faster. I also have been able to use part of my property to grow some produce and reduce my grocery bills. Plus I have the option of changing the house by additions (if I can afford it), picking colors that dont' have to meet an HOA approval, and plenty of parking.

[Curious Discussion]

Yes the detached single family home if it is the same price as the modern townhouse may have advantage, but the ones that I see at the same price point have not been upgraded at all. They had older people living there for a lifetime and the people felt no reason to upgrade because they were used to it.

I have fond memories of when I was a kid in the 1960s but forgot how small the rooms were in my house were and how old fashioned the kitchen and bathrooms were.

Originally Posted by weezycom

I like the old house better. When I was in the market, I was facing a similar choice. I ended up buying the house, and am very glad I did. At the time I purchased, TH & SFH in the same general area were selling for nearly even prices. When the recession hit, my SFH took less of a hit than the TH market and bounced back faster. I also have been able to use part of my property to grow some produce and reduce my grocery bills. Plus I have the option of changing the house by additions (if I can afford it), picking colors that dont' have to meet an HOA approval, and plenty of parking.

[rmm0484]

Originally Posted by Ffxdata

Yes. For our townhouse, our fees are $60 a month. As for raising fees, the amount they can raise them is generally listed in the HOA documents. Generally it is a nominal amount of 2-4% per year or voted on by a majority of home owners. It's not quite as arbitrary, but check the documents before buying.

We are responsible for landscaping and trees on our lot. There are no maintenance people at all.

2-4% sounds like no big deal, but over time, this adds up. Our townhouse HOA raised the fee by 5% every year, regardless. Our monthly fee went from $65 a month when we moved in to $165 per month for common area electric, maintenance and landscaping, and individual water and trash collection. There is no clubhouse or pool, and the brick sidewalks and mews look very shabby due to seriously deteriorating mortar. Our property has not kept up with values in the rest of the neighborhood, either. We went from being the most expensive in the neighborhood to being among the least expensive (partially due to more expensive homes being built). My point is that they took the money and did not place it where it paid off long term (infrastructure) but focused mainly on the short term (landscaping).

[Ffxdata]

Then you should change your board or fire your management company. It sounds like they don't have the interest of the community at heart. A 2% increase barely covers yearly inflation. 5% is often the only way that communities are able to do big improvements like repaving or installing street lights without dipping into the reserve. Especially in years when things like snow removal or downed trees eat up the maintenance budget as they have with the recent rough winters.

It's easy to complain about the HOA, but it's best to get on the board instead and make your concerns known at meetings then let your housing prices fall as the community deteriorates.

[Curious Discussion]

I looked at houses in North Springfield that were townhouse prices. The neighborhood looked so depressing and I was shocked at the lack of landscaping and trees for a 60 year old neighborhood. I understand that in the 1950s people waited in line to see the super modern homes and the neighborhood was upper middle class white people.

[ffx rez]

So then buy a new townhome in a neighborhood of upper middle class white people if that's what you want.

[dating_houses]

I just sold a beautifully updated one-level off Ferndale in North Springfield for $430k - if you can swing the additional $20-30k (not much in a mortgage payment) to get more into the mid-$400k range, you would be better off buying a SFH. The nice thing about that area is that there aren't any HOA fees. Also, you should be able to negotiate a great deal right now because the market has slowed down. Let me know if you need help!