would you rather own a tiny, ugly SFH or a nice townhouse?

[Anonymous]

We're looking in Burke or West Springfield on a budget of $390,000 or under. For that price we can get a nice townhouse, i.e. good construction, 3 beds, 3 baths, decent updates, eat-in kitchen, small yard or deck, decent storage, etc. OR we could get one of the very few SFH's in that price range that would be very ugly, need major updating, 3 small bedrooms, 1 bathroom (plus maybe a half), no basement, small closets, but a huge yard. Neighborhoods would be very similar.

Before starting our search I would have assumed that ANY SFH would have better resale than a townhouse, but now I'm not sure. It seems like a lot of the SFH we've looked at have been sitting on the market for a long time (3 plus months) and townhomes are moving in days. We're looking for long term (10 years minimum, maybe forever) so I know I shouldn't get too hung up on resale.

What do you think? Which would you prefer?

[Anonymous]

The noise from neighbors can be annoying with townhomes.

[Anonymous]

I would do a TH, especially if you could get an end unit, to minimize the shared wall aspect. But I'm not really a yard/garden person, so I would prioritize the inside over the outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The noise from neighbors can be annoying with townhomes.

This. Would much prefer the SFH.

[Anonymous]

The noise depends on the townhome. I live in an older, very well constructed townhome, and never been bothered by noise from the neighbors.

That said, we're moving soon (I hope!) to a sfh with a yard for dc. If you really want a yard, and have the money to do updates, you can do well by getting a good deal on a fixer-upper sfh. Particularly in this market, there is a premium on renovated houses, since it is very difficult to get loans for renovation. However, if you are going to just live in it and not fix it up, I'm afraid you will find resale difficult, unless the real estate market improves dramatically. I've seen some big, beautiful houses sit on the market because they need some work.

[Anonymous]

House

[Anonymous]

This is completely driven by individual preference- there is ample resale market for both. From your post it sounds like the TH fits you better, so go for it...better to be in what you're most happy living in.

[Anonymous]

Whichever one has a bigger bathtub

[Anonymous]

chances are, if it's sitting on the market right now, it's overpriced. Inventory was really low this spring/summer - the stuff sitting on the market is overpriced or sitting on a really busy street. (I looked at 63 houses to find my house.)

If you remove the resale question from the equation, where would you rather live? Are you willing to put in the time/money to make the SFH into something good, or would you rather have a "done" house? Personally, I'd rather have a SFH, even if it's not all that fixed-up. I think they tend to hold their value better unless they're walkable to metro. but you sound like you'd rather have the TH - if you're planning on moving eventually anyway, I'd do the TH as your starter home and then you can later do a SFH. there will always be a market for starter homes, and I think townhouses make good starter homes.

[Anonymous]

End unit TH.

[Anonymous]

TH with good light.

THs are also cheaper to maintain--lower heating/cooling bills, smaller yard, etc., etc.

[Anonymous]

SFH. You can improve it. Since you are looking longterm, a house is the better investment.

[Anonymous]

Will you be able to fix up the SFH to your liking? Will you be unhapppy in it until you can fix it up, how long will that be? What are the neighbors like in the SFHs, are their homes fixer uppers too?

[Anonymous]

We were in the same boat when we were looking in the same area. We ultimately went with a TH, as the SFHs in that price range all needed too much work. Blah.

We purchased a TH on the newer side of the Timbers (off Hillside near West Springfield High School). I have to say I've NEVER heard either of our neighbors in the 6 years we've lived in this house. On the one side is just a single Korean lady, but she regularly has her extended family over and I've still never heard anything. On the other side we have a large family with 3 kids. Not a peep leaks through those walls. After we had our first baby, I actually went over to apologize to them, fearing they could hear him crying at night. They said they never heard a thing! So really . . . not all THs have thin walls.

I also love our TH community because we have little tot lots that are just covered in children from spring until fall. Love that sense of community!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in the same boat when we were looking in the same area. We ultimately went with a TH, as the SFHs in that price range all needed too much work. Blah.

We purchased a TH on the newer side of the Timbers (off Hillside near West Springfield High School). I have to say I've NEVER heard either of our neighbors in the 6 years we've lived in this house. On the one side is just a single Korean lady, but she regularly has her extended family over and I've still never heard anything. On the other side we have a large family with 3 kids. Not a peep leaks through those walls. After we had our first baby, I actually went over to apologize to them, fearing they could hear him crying at night. They said they never heard a thing! So really . . . not all THs have thin walls.

I also love our TH community because we have little tot lots that are just covered in children from spring until fall. Love that sense of community!!

Thanks! There are several THs in the Timbers that are on our list to look at. Good to know there are lots of families there - we have a 2 year old and are definitely looking for somewhere with a sense of community.