townhome maintenance fee (homeowners association, condo, subdivision)

[hueimo]

does anyone who lives in a townhome in Utah know if the town home maintenance fee covers someone cleaning out the snow in the morning, so the owners do not have to do that? is this is a plus over living in a single family home where you need to clean out your own front door snow in the morning? thanks!!

[kaytidid]

It would depend on the individual home owners association. If you decide that is the way you want to go, you should read the CC&R's to find out what exactly your maintainence fee covers. I used to live in a townhome and the only thing our fee covers was the snow removal in the subdivision (the roads, not the individual sidewalks, cars, ect) and the mowing of the grass in my front yard. I only had a concrete courtyard in the back, so grass was irrelevent in that case.

[kwm03160]

Originally Posted by hueimo

does anyone who lives in a townhome in Utah know if the town home maintenance fee covers someone cleaning out the snow in the morning, so the owners do not have to do that? is this is a plus over living in a single family home where you need to clean out your own front door snow in the morning? thanks!!

I live in a townhome. As the previous poster said, it depends on the townhome community. For example, my townhome community will remove the snow from the street, the common areas (such as the sidewalks & around the clubhouse), but DOES NOT remove the snow from my driveway or my individual sidewalk. There are townhome communities that will remove the snow from driveways... it depends. Our townhome community used to. Usually, if the townhome community does not want to raise the homeowner's association (HOA) fee and is looking for things to cut to make the budget "balance," they will cut removing snow for individual homeowners.

Generally speaking, you will pay less in homeowner association fees in a townhome than paying for the same services in a single-family detached home. That is one of the major pluses. Another plus is the amenities the townhome association would offer (such as a clubhouse with a workout room, a pool, etc). Yardcare will also be taken care of for you. Amenities vary by townhome development.

One of the major minuses of townhome living is that you are attached to your neighbor. For example, I live in a "studio" style townhome where my unit is above the garages of the other units. I hear the garage door go up & down all the time. The worse thing was when my neighbor bought a new car with one of those performance mufflers... my whole house shakes! You also have limited options in changes you can make to the exterior of the townhome, and (depending on the homeowners association) they can be quite restrictive in what decorations you put in the "common area" yard.

If you do decide to go the townhome route, I would ask to see the financial statements of the homeowner's association. Also, I would go around and ask other owners (especially with the floorplan you are considering) what they think... do they like living there?

Personally, I don't think removing snow is that big of a deal... Depending on the size of your driveway, it may only take 1/2 hour or so. In Utah, if one of their neighbors isn't physically able to do so, a neighbor will usually do their driveway out of courtesy.

I wouldn't use snow removal as a deciding factor on whether you live in a single-family detached house or condo. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[kwm03160]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

It would depend on the individual home owners association. If you decide that is the way you want to go, you should read the CC&R's to find out what exactly your maintainence fee covers. I used to live in a townhome and the only thing our fee covers was the snow removal in the subdivision (the roads, not the individual sidewalks, cars, ect) and the mowing of the grass in my front yard. I only had a concrete courtyard in the back, so grass was irrelevent in that case.

I would also ask the association's management company directly. Problem is, there are a lot of HOA's that don't follow the CC&R's concerning snow removal. For example, the CC&R's for my development say that the snow will be removed from driveways and sidewalks... but it isn't because of budget problems. The HOA board is "meaning" to get this changed, but don't have the funds yet. I almost wish the HOA would get sued over this, but I guess I would end up paying for it in the end!

[hueimo]

Originally Posted by kwm03160

I live in a townhome. As the previous poster said, it depends on the townhome community. For example, my townhome community will remove the snow from the street, the common areas (such as the sidewalks & around the clubhouse), but DOES NOT remove the snow from my driveway or my individual sidewalk. There are townhome communities that will remove the snow from driveways... it depends. Our townhome community used to. Usually, if the townhome community does not want to raise the homeowner's association (HOA) fee and is looking for things to cut to make the budget "balance," they will cut removing snow for individual homeowners.

Generally speaking, you will pay less in homeowner association fees in a townhome than paying for the same services in a single-family detached home. That is one of the major pluses. Another plus is the amenities the townhome association would offer (such as a clubhouse with a workout room, a pool, etc). Yardcare will also be taken care of for you. Amenities vary by townhome development.

One of the major minuses of townhome living is that you are attached to your neighbor. For example, I live in a "studio" style townhome where my unit is above the garages of the other units. I hear the garage door go up & down all the time. The worse thing was when my neighbor bought a new car with one of those performance mufflers... my whole house shakes! You also have limited options in changes you can make to the exterior of the townhome, and (depending on the homeowners association) they can be quite restrictive in what decorations you put in the "common area" yard.

If you do decide to go the townhome route, I would ask to see the financial statements of the homeowner's association. Also, I would go around and ask other owners (especially with the floorplan you are considering) what they think... do they like living there?

Personally, I don't think removing snow is that big of a deal... Depending on the size of your driveway, it may only take 1/2 hour or so. In Utah, if one of their neighbors isn't physically able to do so, a neighbor will usually do their driveway out of courtesy.

I wouldn't use snow removal as a deciding factor on whether you live in a single-family detached house or condo. Let me know if you have any other questions!

thanks for everyone's input. is there a fine for not removing the snow in front of the door for single family homes? thanks.

[kwm03160]

Originally Posted by hueimo

thanks for everyone's input. is there a fine for not removing the snow in front of the door for single family homes? thanks.

As far as I know, there has been no city that has enacted an ordinance like that. They are mostly concerned about the sidewalks & keeping cars off the streets so plows can do their job.

[kaytidid]

I don't know of any fine, but there is always the potential of someone slipping on an unshoveled porch, driveway, or sidewalk and suing you. I don't think it happens often, but...