Homeowners, I'm looking for some input re: "starter" homes vs. townhouses.

[Thor Von Clemson]

I think you once told me that you would want something down in the southern metro by your work right? I would check out house/property values down there as well as what the townhomes are running for these days.

A house is the biggest purchase you will ever make. Unless you are purchasing a townhouse to OWN it eventually I would stay away from that. You will get a lot more out of owning a house financially. It is a little more work to keep it up but its worth it. You have a little more freedom with a house as far as noise goes, it is typically easier to raise a family in a house, and if you play the market right you can get a lot of out of it.

Our house in Big Lake should at least double in value in the next 5-6 years. Eventually when our family gets too big for it, we will sell it and build a bigger house with whatever we made on this one.

If you are not looking to play the market game and are looking to find a place to live, settle there for many years and have that be it then a townhouse may work well for you. Not as much freedom depending on your neighbors but oh well. If you are not planning on having a huge family a townhouse would work well. I am not sure what the interior/exterior responsibilities are in a townhouse but I am willing to be it would be less that in a house.

If you choose to build new you generally will not have as many problems with appliances or anything. If you do a lot of the times things will be covered by warranties. If you choose to buy an existing house it can be a lot of work, time, and money to fix things. Either way if you go the house route make sure you are dealing with people you can trust. I can get you contact information about the Chanhassen, Shakopee, Chaska area if you like... I think you said that is where you are looking.

My inlaws own a new home construction company and a real estate company up here and it would not take more than a few phone calls.

Another thing to consider about a townhouse around here is that if you get one, it will be harder to sell it than a house. I know a lot of people who are trying to sell townhouses and they generally seem more difficult to sell.




I know someone who is selling a very nice townhouse in Shakopee if you are interested.

[zeegler]

I could NEVER, repeat NEVER live in a house that was attached to another one. My house stands on its own property with the nearest house at least 20 feet away. I can play my guitar as loud as I want, and never have to worry about it bothering anyone. Plus, I never have to worry about anyone bothering me. Townhouses are crap!

[Inazone]

Thanks for all of the info so far. As I basically expected, the "cross-section" of folks posting here is about the same as most of my friends and co-workers. Some have houses, others townhomes, and a few still in apartments. Like I mentioned in my initial post, my rent is so cheap that there has been little incentive to move unless a really sweet deal comes along. I'm probably NOT going to find such a deal in Chanhassen, where I currently live, because it is one of those cities that is the "final frontier" of suburbs before you're in farm country. Fifteen years ago, there wasn't much here, but it's booming now, and most of the residential expansion is in the form of condos and townhomes. Property values are crazy, as I mentioned, because developers have a hard-on for any piece of land that becomes available. Many of the houses immediately around my apartment building were probably built in the late `80s and early `90s, and were clearly not built to last...but even those homes are creeping toward the $300K mark. The nice ones are well over that. Not an amount I'm able to spend, nor would I want to.

For my own needs, having attached neighbors wouldn't be an issue...as far as me getting myself in trouble. My entire rack rig is capable of direct recording, and many years of apartment dwelling have trained me to practice at very modest volumes. I'll still have to spend $40/month for my share of a practice space, due to my bandmates' locations. As far as bad neighbors are concerned, I used to live in what I considered a "border town" on the northern edge of Minneapolis. In the ten months I lived there, I was never shot or robbed, which was impressive. After that, I lived with a former bandmate, in an apartment that was transformed into a bar four nights a week. Piles of beer cans and bottles, overflowing ashtrays, garbage and unconcious people on the floor, music blasting constantly. I have endured a lot so far. Now I'm surrounded by retirees, have never received a noise complaint, and continue to view a house as a want rather than a need. And to find an affordable house that is big enough to consider a "keeper" might require moving further south or west...which does not appeal much to me.

Anyone want to set up a commune?!

[lerxstcat]

Having worked in plumbing for 20 years and seen the problems that condo and townhome owners go through trying to resolve problems, I'd never want to own one myself. It's not just having neighbors attached, it's that your (often stupid) neighbors have decision-making powers in matters that affect YOUR life.

Example: The guy in the next unit doesn't know how to use a garbage disposal, so he clogs his all the time. You're behind him on the line, so the shit backs up into your kitchen sink and all over your kitchen floor. Who pays for your floor? Not the condo complex. You have to deal with your neighbor. Well, he didn';t even have a stoppage in HIS unit, so he doesn't feel responsible for your problem.

Now you have to take him to court and prove that he caused your problem.
Then, if you win, you still have to enforce payment, it's not automatic. You have to research property he owns - maybe he rents his unit, maybe owns it - and then try to atach it so he has to pay if he sells it. So if he doesn't sell it, you have a lien but no money.

I have seen scenarios like this so many times I would never consider owning a condo. If this shit happens in an apartment it's the landlord's problem, and his money, spent to fix it. In a condo, it's your problem, your money, and not always your say.

[Firebird V]

Townhouse... it's a glorified apartment except you still have to buy all the same stuff you would need for a regular house, minus the lawn care stuff of course. But you will pay for lawn care in your HOA fees, so it's kind of a wash. Associations can be both good and bad and expensive.

I bought my first house 8 years ago. It was an older house (built in 1976), it didn't have an HOA, but I have great neighbors who take care of their stuff.

Costs... had to replace pretty much EVERYTHING in it. A/C, hot water heater, windows, ALL the appliances and then the nickel and dime shit add up too.
But in the end, it's mine.
Shit is gonna break whether it's in a house or a townhouse, so from a cost perspective, there really is no difference.
The really cool thing about a house though... you can JAM in it without having to worry about pissing off the person on the other side of your SHARED wall if you were in a townhome.
Try doing that in your HOA controlled townhome and see how fast the HOA fines start rolling in. Yes... they can fine you. And they can even take you to court and force you to move/sell if you violate the rules too much.

Get a house... it will hold its value better than any townhouse.

Exactly. Well said.

[ABSOLUT CHARVEL]

interest rates can be something to keep an eye on also. a few years ago we locked in at a 15 year @ 4.25%.