i dont know about you guys but to me a townhome sounds like a no brainer (mortgage, condo)

[gymbuff]

I like single family homes personally. But I would have considered a townhouse if I would have found a corner unit with some yard space. If you like a townhouse, go for it. Like a few posters have said, some HOA fees are quite low!

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by tropolis

1. i dont have anything to worry about if anything happens, being in the hoa takes care of it.

2. dont have a yard i have to mow. driveway is shoveled for me and i just dont have the hassles of having a yard.

3. better bang for your buck. i can get more square feet and a better deal with a townhome.

to me its a no brainer.

Not all townhouses are created alike. I have owned and lived in a townhouse for the last 7 years. Mine is not in a townhouse community, but is in a regular subdivision, which is a mix of townhouses and single family. It sounds like you are looking at one that is in a complex. In mine, the HOA does not take care of any exterior maintenance, but the HOA fees are only $150ish a year.

Originally Posted by likesAppliances

This is where an HOA helps. The first time they disturb you by playing the piano during your sleep hours (10pm to 8am) they get a warning. The second time they're fined $500. Few are willing to pay $500/week to disturb your sleep.


Townhomes generally have thick walls and they're connected common-sensically. Eg, master bedrooms share walls with master bedrooms and living rooms share walls with living rooms. So, you can usually play the piano without bugging your neighbors.

Our HOA would not fine for noise. They leave it to the police to determine if an ordinance has been violated.

Oh, and as builders, we try to NEVER put a master bedroom against a master bedroom. That is one of our goals in laying out the floor plan. Bathrooms and closets go as buffers whenever possible.

As to the thick walls, mine was actually built with a 6 inch cinderblock wall dividing the entire living quarters. I can't hear my neighbor at all. Ever. But current building code in my area is that townhouses must be built as two single houses with a connecting exterior. So at the join point, there are two exterior walls with a dead air space in between, with the only connection on the foundation, siding and roof. So you have double the insulation, which does cut down on noise substantially from a duplex.

So, more noise than a single family, but less than a duplex or apartment.

[likesAppliances]

Originally Posted by CaroleF

I didn't know that HOAs fined their owners for noise. That is good news. But bedrooms can also have noise.

The ones I live at do. Since a couple replies said their HOAs do not, I suppose that's something to check on when selecting a place.

Note, our HOA responds certainly but slowly, usually within a week. If the noise is particularly disturbing like a giant party and you need immediate relief you want to call the police.

I have had very loud TV noise through my wall from the bedroom next door in my apartment and then there is other noises too , which can be very sleep-disturbing. Do townhomes have thick walls?

All the townhomes and most of the condos I've visited had thicker walls than multi-residence apartments.

At the condo I live at now, when the doors and windows are closed, the only neighbor noises I've ever heard were: (a) power saw usage on Sunday afternoons a few doors over--that's quite loud and (b) our upstairs neighbor's baby wailing for a few minutes every week or three (My wife's ears cannot hear it, but my daughters and mine can at night when we're in bed and all else is silent). We've never heard our next door neighbor's baby or a TV from any unit.

We actually began playing the piano after we moved here, and our neighbors didn't realize until months later. It's positioned about fifty feet from their wall.

Originally Posted by Lacerta

Oh, and as builders, we try to NEVER put a master bedroom against a master bedroom. That is one of our goals in laying out the floor plan. Bathrooms and closets go as buffers whenever possible.

That's even better! I'll have to watch for that design next time. In either case, your neighbor's living room should be nowhere near your bedroom.

[CaroleF]

Pleeeease, does anyone know of townhomes in Houston built with good insulation and bathrooms etc between homes? Honestly, I would go out and buy one tomorrow if I could find one that was quiet.

[Themanwithnoname]

Originally Posted by tropolis

id like thoughts on the commentary, and wanted to see if others agreed with me.

No.

[cowboyxjon]

It depends on what fits your lifestyle and where you live. I bought a townhome in Denver and couldn't be happier with it. It's newer, energy-efficient construction in the city (built in 2006), close to everything I like, and it has a two-car garage on the first level, but the garage door is in the rear of the house, while the front is landscaped with steps leading up to the porch. It's on the end and has more windows than the units in the middle and it has a thick firewall and good insulation. Would I buy a townhome in a place where single family homes are more affordable? Probably not, but for me, the townhome is the perfect fit for my situation. Basically, it came down to location. I could have bought a single family home in the suburbs, but I work in the city and all of my friends and the places I like to go are in the city, so I paid, in essence, for the location.

I know that the quality of construction varies widely, but my small townhome complex seems to be well built. The firewalls are thick because of the existing fire code and the units are well insulated. I never hear my neighbors. In fact, I was impressed by the fact that they had a party one night and I had no idea until I happened to go outside to take my dogs for a walk. I moved to the townhouse more or less expecting to hear my neighbors from time to time, but so far, I haven't. It's a pleasant surprise. I don't even hear their garage door.

There is an HOA, which is a bummer, but it exists basically to cover exterior maintenance (including the roof) and snow removal. There is no pool or any sort of amenities, so the fees aren't terrible ($100/month) and haven't increased since 2006 from what I hear. The rules are fairly lax, just things that I probably wouldn't want to do anyway, like "don't store trash on your porch."

For me, it works. Would I recommend a townhome to everybody? Of course not.

[Boompa]

Depends on who is on the HOA and how much it costs. I have lived in communities where they had two golf courses, two resturants, tennis courts, gyms etc that the HOA supported. Not many people used them but the people on the HOA did.

Then there were the old snoops who came around looking for violations, it got to the point I believed the gates and fences were to keep us in not keep others out

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by CaroleF

I didn't know that HOAs fined their owners for noise.

Some HOAs have noise rules.

Some HOAs enforce their rules.

Some HOAs impose fines on those who break the rules.

Can't use a braod brush on all HOAs.

[dragontales]

On our home shopping search, town homes and single family homes were our choices. We liked the floor plans of most town houses (the garage and or living space on the ground floor and bed rooms upstairs, separated from each other). But we didn't like the idea of HOA fees. The separation of the living/entertaining space from the bedrooms were important to us. We liked the detached feature of SFH though. Peace and quiet was priority number one! Luckily we found a house after a long search that satisfied all the criteria. We ended up with a home that has a two car garage on the ground flr, living room and kitchen on the 2nd flr, and the bedrooms on the 3rd flr. Our house is detached on both sides. It has a decent size yard with a deck for bbq and the dogs could do their business. Most homes in the area keep their lawns nice and green but there are a couple of bad seeds. We lucked out. Best of all? No HOA dues!

[CaroleF]

I wanna luck out too .