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High HOA fees can be a deterrent for lot of people in buying a condo/townhome. But consider what you would pay for lawn service, snow removal, pool maintenance, gym membership, roof repairs, etc. if you paid for those yourself. Some fees also include basic cable or internet service and water. Where I live that would be a $150 savings right there.
SFH's are great if you have the time and inclination to do all your own upkeep and maintenance. As a 61 year old widow I'd rather being living in a townhouse or condo and not be responsible for all that maintenance. I'd rather be kayaking or going to the gym than mowing my yard every week.
Hoa fees can be great deals or they can be terrible value. As an example I live in one now that has:
Huge Pool with steaming hot hot tub, clubhouse, basketball, tennis, playground, tons of common areas (talking multiple football field sized places for kids to play / hangout). They include cable (which gives a bundled rate on the internet), lawn service, weeding up front, trees trimmed, fertilized, gated and guarded 24/7 and is well run. Monthly cost is $172.
I'd be hard pressed to even get all the lawn care for that much less everything else. Great deal.
Then you compare that to some other communities around here that charge around $400 a month and you get a postage stamp sized community pool with some crappy gates, common areas shared by most of the general public and that is it.
Value can vary tremendously, mostly due to the size of the community which ties into the original development plan. Many of these communities are poorly designed and or setup poorly and it can have a massive impact on dues.
Generally speaking larger communities can handle costs better IF they are well run and well designed. When you only have 10 or 20 town homes or something it can be difficult to secure reasonable insurance and services where as a very large community can sometimes secure more value with economy of scale.
In several places I've lived, town houses were always garage at ground level and then a minimum of two flights of narrow, steep stairs to the other floors. Many of the people I know who are downsizing and would like a home the size of a town house are put off by those stairs. People over the age of 60 often have back problems and/or contemplate knee or hip replacements in their future. They take one look at the stairs and say, "No way."
With a condo you can get a ground-level apartment or in a high-rise you have the option of an elevator. Older people need that. Not all people looking for smaller homes are first-time buyers. Depending on the demographics of an area, many could be last-time buyers. Over-55 developments can be nice and are usually appropriate to meet physical incapacities, but are out-of-reach financially to many seniors.
I am really only interested in discussing the topic in a general sense and not for my particular location.
Well, location is relevant but apparently your particular house is NOT like most people's townhouse. And you're wanting to be a flipper. But you even said it "needs work".
I just looked up my first house, a townhouse built in 1987. There are only 3 for sale in a massive HOA community - it's own CDP- and 20 have sold in the last 3 mos. Near Philly. $200/sqft HOA fee is only $110/Qtr
I am not selling the house I live in, but it probably would sell very fast for well over $400k, if I wanted to move. My townhouse is in another zip code, close but not quite as nice. It has not yet been listed on the market. I was aiming for the end of this week, but had a minor set back repair to house I live in this weekend, so delayed work at the townhouse.
Well, location is relevant but apparently your particular house is NOT like most people's townhouse. And you're wanting to be a flipper. But you even said it "needs work".
I just looked up my first house, a townhouse built in 1987. There are only 3 for sale in a massive HOA community - it's own CDP- and 20 have sold in the last 3 mos. Near Philly. $200/sqft HOA fee is only $110/Qtr
So: LOCATION.
I am now doing the repairs.
People are weird. I would much rather live where I live than philly. Actually one of the neighbors does commute to philly. We are about $130/ sq ft and HOA is about $900 per year.
This market is suburban right on the edge of being rural. Public water ends right past this neighborhood. Farms are within 3-4 miles. I have no idea what you mean by mfh's.
We have no coops. Unless you mean chicken coops. Those are common... ;-)
It's interesting to me how how not only do real estate markets vary greatly by location, but so does real estate terminology.
What defines a condo vs. townhouse in your area?
I know in my general area, pretty close in suburbs, townhouses were WAY over-built in the early 2000's. Hundreds of them just crammed into whatever sliver of land was available. The problem is not that many people seem to want to move to the suburbs to live in tight-quarters close to their neighbors. People are in them for a short period of time as a "starter home" and then want to move on to a house with a yard in a good school district. So all that turnover decreases the demand for more townhouses. I wonder how high the demand could possibly be for no land in a semi-rural area?
Although lately the situation seems to finally be improving here!
People are weird. I would much rather live where I live than philly. Actually one of the neighbors does commute to philly. We are about $130/ sq ft and HOA is about $900 per year.
LOL what does that have to do with anything?
Odd comment from someone keeping their location a big secret on a real estate forum discussing market demands. You could live in Omaha for all I know; I said my location just as a point of reference.
Since you commented about the area, I said "near Philly" and the reason the area including townhouses sell so quickly is it's a very high demand county, top rated schools, where people can commute in a corridor either to Philly, Princeton, No Jersey or NYC.
If, in your mystery location, you have a neighbor commuting to Philly, then you either picked a not so fast moving or desirable community or your house wasn't priced right for it's condition. Bensalem, for example.
Real estate isn't that big a mystery and the reasons something sells or doesn't can always be explained. It's not some nebulous thing about townhouses suddenly not being popular.
ie My mother's house sold 4 hours after I put the sign up because it was one of the only ranch houses in the development of colonials and custom built by the builder for himself.
Odd comment from someone keeping their location a big secret on a real estate forum discussing market demands. You could live in Omaha for all I know; I said my location just as a point of reference.
Since you commented about the area, I said "near Philly" and the reason the area including townhouses sell so quickly is it's a very high demand county, top rated schools, where people can commute in a corridor either to Philly, Princeton, No Jersey or NYC.
If, in your mystery location, you have a neighbor commuting to Philly, then you either picked a not so fast moving or desirable community or your house wasn't priced right for it's condition. Bensalem, for example.
Real estate isn't that big a mystery and the reasons something sells or doesn't can always be explained. It's not some nebulous thing about townhouses suddenly not being popular.
ie My mother's house sold 4 hours after I put the sign up because it was one of the only ranch houses in the development of colonials and custom built by the builder for himself.
I can believe that. In my not so secret location of Staten Island NY ranch homes are rare and hard to find. Because most of them were on decent sized property developers tore them down and put up town houses which have all sold btw.
It's interesting to me how how not only do real estate markets vary greatly by location, but so does real estate terminology.
What defines a condo vs. townhouse in your area?
I know in my general area, pretty close in suburbs, townhouses were WAY over-built in the early 2000's. Hundreds of them just crammed into whatever sliver of land was available. The problem is not that many people seem to want to move to the suburbs to live in tight-quarters close to their neighbors. People are in them for a short period of time as a "starter home" and then want to move on to a house with a yard in a good school district. So all that turnover decreases the demand for more townhouses. I wonder how high the demand could possibly be for no land in a semi-rural area?
Although lately the situation seems to finally be improving here!
A condo is basically an apartment that you own. You are responsible for the maintenance inside. The Hoa maintains the exterior. They are generally one level.
A townhouse is a 2-3 level home that is part of a row of 6 or so homes grouped together. The owner is responsible for the interior and exterior maintenance
Odd comment from someone keeping their location a big secret on a real estate forum discussing market demands. You could live in Omaha for all I know; I said my location just as a point of reference.
Since you commented about the area, I said "near Philly" and the reason the area including townhouses sell so quickly is it's a very high demand county, top rated schools, where people can commute in a corridor either to Philly, Princeton, No Jersey or NYC.
If, in your mystery location, you have a neighbor commuting to Philly, then you either picked a not so fast moving or desirable community or your house wasn't priced right for it's condition. Bensalem, for example.
Real estate isn't that big a mystery and the reasons something sells or doesn't can always be explained. It's not some nebulous thing about townhouses suddenly not being popular.
ie My mother's house sold 4 hours after I put the sign up because it was one of the only ranch houses in the development of colonials and custom built by the builder for himself.
I am not in PA but about an hour and 15 from the Philly airport.
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