Buying a townhouse with lots of character-upgrades, or cookie cutter with small yard?

[SammyeGail]

We ran across a 3 story beach townhouse (its maybe 2.5-3 blocks from the beach, you can see the gulf from a bedroom upstairs) looking Sunday and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. There are 7 on each side in the complex with a large common area in the center with a large pool in the center. Each one is separated by a large walkway and gates. Built in 2006, never lived in. Its an estate sale. Lower level has a covered porch, 7 X 18, covered decks with nice columns and railing on the 2nd and 3rd level, they are 7 X 18. The total sq. footage is 2300+. To get in, the complex is rectangle shaped with drives on the back of the townhouses, each has a 2 car garage (!). The townhouses face each other over the courtyard. It has hardwood and 10 ft ceilings with crown molding throughout, kitchen not huge but beautiful, master bedroom is gorgeous. I could go on and on. The price can't be beat!

On the other hand there is a foreclosure in a cookie cutter neighborhood that has a small backyard, 45G more. No upgrades. No appliances. Orange peel textured walls, which I could live with. 100 sq feet larger, but no character. Very small back yard, you could put a play yard in it. We would need to fence it in in addition to buying kitchen appliances. Each time we've looked at it we could hear the neighbors that back up to it, they are very loud. There is a subdivision pool 1/2 a block away, but there are around 400 homes in there. In the Phase its in I stopped counting at 10 of the houses I saw that looked like they had the exact same floorplan. Well, they were all beige stucco, lol.

The townhouse had a 'lockout' on the bottom level (with the garage) that had a sink, mini fridge, closet and bathroom. The living area was about 14 X 18, DH looked at some indoor playsets online, the boys seemed thrilled with them. The courtyard had lots of room to run around, closed off, we could put double sided key deadbolts on the frenchdoors leading outside so they couldn't get into the pool without me or DH.

I feel like we should buy a *traditional* home. Thats what families do. On the other hand, our house in TN had a sloping back yard that was unusable, such bad drivers on the street we were super careful going in the front yard so it was rare. We would get in the car to go to the park. There are lots of parks here. We can buy a golf cart and drive over to the beach. The cookie cutter house doesn't give much privacy since they all are so close together.

DH is going to put in an offer on the townhouse tomorrow (Tue.). It feels right to me. I just feel we aren't going the traditional route, but then again we haven't always been the typical type people.

There are neighborhoods here, but I don't want 1300-1500 sq feet, and other people in those neighborhoods don't maintain their homes or yards. Thats the price range of the townhouse.

Pls tell me we aren't crazy to buy this place? Its not something I would stay in 10 years, for a while, then make it a vacation rental or yearly lease rental. There are several of both in there. We don't mind vacationers, we like meeting new people as they come and go :).

[Tondi G]

I don't think it's such a bad idea. being close to the beach is nice and having a pool right there is also great. It seems as though you really like it and the noisy/loud neighbors that you can hear easily all the time doesn't sound very nice to me. a beach townhome will be an easy rental property in the future! Good Luck

[kijip]

I would buy where you want to live more. How is the location relative to where you need to go everyday? Are there a lot of empty homes in either place?

We live in a townhouse. Maybe it is because we live in a hcol place and own a townhouse, but it never occured to me in my life that families were not supposed to buy townhouses. It has its pluses and minuses for us, but overall it has worked out pretty well.

[AnnieW625]

I would go with the townhouse if you are comfortable with the neighbors. I have always sort of regretted that we didn't buy a condo first vs. buying a smaller 3 bed., 1 bath SFR like we did. The condo was bigger (1400 sq. feet, and 2 baths vs. 1, and a small study off of the front door), but it wasn't an end unit and we both really wanted an end unit. Also we didn't want to pay HOA fees on a place we didn't truly love, kwim? We bought pre kids. Honestly if the place feels right to you then go ahead and do it. There are plenty of people who don't own SFRs and have normal family lives.

[citymama]

The townhouse sounds fabulous - I'd pick that in a heartbeat! It sounds like you really love it, and after all the years of being miserable where you lived, how fabulous to find something that makes you happy. DH and I really wanted a townhouse rather than single-family when we were looking to buy, believe it or not. We ended up with a single-family that we love, but if I'd found something like that in my preferred neighborhood/price range, I wouldn't have thought twice.

[DietCokeLover]

It certainly sounds like you are really happy abut the townhouse. It sounds great. The only thing I thought of was all the stairs. I know you have health issues and wondered if you would be ok with all of the stairs.

[lhafer]

I would go with the townhouse.

If you went with the "traditional house" you would be very sorry in less than a month. If the neighbors seemed loud on the times you visited/toured the house, then think about having to listen to that ALL.THE.TIME after you moved in. Not worth it (been there, done that...moved!).

The townhouse sounds great. I personally would hate all the stairs. But if that doesn't bother you, then go for it!!

[ilfaith]

I agree that the townhouse is the better choice...it really does seem to have the amenities you want. Honestly, I find that living in Florida, there are many months out of the year we don't even use or yard (aside from our pool) because it is simply too hot for the boys to play outside. I find that our kids and the kids in our neighborhood (of traditional houses) are so busy with scheduled activities I almost never see anyone playing in their yards. I'm guessing with the decks and patio you will have as much private outdoor space as you will need...and you won't have to deal with maintaining a large yard.

My brother and his family live in a beautiful townhouse that really does feel like a "home". Once you are inside you forget there are other attached houses on either side. Their neighborhood has more of a sense of community than mine does...and my brother's niece and nephews go to their neighborhood every Halloween, because the homes are so close together they really pull in a ton of candy.

Welcome to Florida!

[kristenk]

Are there any other families with young children in the townhouses? The only thing the other area could have going for it is other kids to play with in the area when your boys are older.

It really sounds like you love the townhouse and would just be buying the other houses because you feel obligated to. I vote for the townhouse.

[bubbaray]

Another vote for townhouse (though I have never lived in one). There are lots of families here who live in townhouses, but our COL is insane so they have no choice. I do know families who live in townhouses more for choice, though -- they do not want the yardwork or exterior maintenance. ETA townhouses here are any strata-plan home with an exterior entrance. Condominiums are strata-plan homes with an interior entrance to each unit. So, townhouses here are not always joined together -- often they are stand-alone "homes" that look like regular houses. What differentiates them from regular houses is the ownership structure -- you own your unit interior and then shares in the exterior and the land. Its a bit more complicated than that, but that is the nuts and bolts.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Families don't always buy detached homes. :) Go for the townhouse- it sounds good. Just go visit there at dif't times of the day to make sure the neighbors are decent (no loud parties at midnight) since they'll be close.

beth

[daisymommy]

The townhouse sounds awesome! That would be my pick.
We lived in a townhouse when we just had DS#1, and it was fine. It was alot smaller than the one you are considering. So with that kind of space and set-up, I would be fine with 2 kids there.

[elbenn]

The townhouse sounds great. Think of all the good uses you can put the money you are saving toward by going that route versus the other house!

[secchick]

I would definitely pich the townhouse in your shoes. We had almost the exact setup, but on 4 THs with a common driveway that I bought when I was single and lived there until DC#2 was on the way and we outgrew it.

The only thing of concern to me would be buying a home 5 years old that had never been occupied. Homes need to be lived in and I would get a thorough inspection and a home warranty as well.

[kijip]

I would be cautious and eyes wide open about construction quality on the 2006 house. That was during the boom and people were throwing things up pretty slap job then. So get a very careful inspection and don't let pretty things distract from any underlying issues or finish work problems. I would research the builder or any Dba names of the company owner and see if there are pending suits or other reported issues. Also, get your own inspector and one that will get up on the roof. Also plan on painting, as the quality of paint used by the builders is likely awful with kids and the dirt they bring in. We should have painted everything before we moved in but we didn't. Big mistake because it is hard to get around to doing once your stuff is in.

[lhafer]

I forgot to mention...why hasn't the townhouse been lived in for 5 years? While I think it would be better suited for you, I would worry about a house that just "sits" that long without being lived in. Def. get a really good inspection.

[hellokitty]

It certainly sounds like you are really happy abut the townhouse. It sounds great. The only thing I thought of was all the stairs. I know you have health issues and wondered if you would be ok with all of the stairs.

:yeahthat: I'm also curious to know why it's been empty for 5 yrs. My parents bought a house that was new, but empty for yrs. The builder cheaped out on the heat while it was vacant and the flooring ended up peeling up. I would have a very thorough inspection, b/c things may have happened that they aren't even aware of.

[SammyeGail]

Thanks everyone! DH sent the offer early AM, our RE agent sent it to seller agent, he said we should hear something by this afternoon. I didn't even know DH had done it, but another couple we bumped into Sunday was looking at it as vacation/investment property.

The reason it has never been lived in was the man who originally bought it in 2006 never did anything with it, payed basic utilities, taxes, HOA, he recently passed away. His children just want to cut the loss and get rid of it.

I went by this AM, the Pre. of HOA was outside, we talked some and his wife and I talked some. I got great info on what was going on with each one. 2 are owned by a man who lives in GA, he rents them out but is very, very particular about who he rents to. No rift-raft. Several have long term renters. Only one he has problems with 'kids' getting in it, poor guy, its right next door to him. Its for sale but as a short sale, only about 10% of those go thru around here.

We will get an inspection and have it in the contract where we can back out if it has any major problems.

Hope I'm not invading this person's privacy, but here is one listed on vrbo.com, the one we are looking at is blue and right beside the pool. We would put dead bolts with key locks on both sides on the doors, alarms that the doors have been opened, any other locks we can think of ;). I'm not crazy about the stairs, but the main living area, laundry, full bath, what would be our guest bedroom is on 2nd floor, so thats a huge plus.

http://www.vrbo.com/94480

Huge negative is the staircase to 3rd level (master bed&bath, 4th bedroom and a bathroom, boys will sleep there). The stairs are open. I don't know what the part is called, but they don't have the piece below each step, its empty space! If we get it, DH will be renting a staple gun and filling those in before we move in. I can see my boys wanting to dangle their legs thru them. Last Sun J was already trying to fit his head thru the opening, sigh.

No deal-breaker, but all the trim is painted a dark almond color, not white. Looks a bit odd with the fixtures, knobs, etc being brushed nickel and the granite having lots of gray tones.

We looked at a different house Sunday, pool, fenced in back yard, nice interior, but exterior door trim leaving garage looked to have termite damage, Garage door trim had rot. Mold around furnace in garage. It was also filthy. Been rented out 2 years and it showed. What a pity. Asking price was 100G more than townhouse, he would have to come down 100G it was in such bad shape!

And as alot of you mentioned, DH doesn't want to do lawn maintenance. The HOA fees are very reasonable for the townhouse!

[wendmatt]

Sounds awesome to me. DH hates our house and wishes we lived in a townhouse, close to the beach, sounds like paradise. Good luck, hope they accept your offer.

[boolady]

Families don't always buy detached homes. :)

:yeahthat: We currently live in a townhouse, and all of our neighbors are families. All of them. Ours is not nearly as big as what you're looking at...if it was, and it was in a slightly different area (nothing wrong with our area, just not close to the folks I'd like to be closest to).

[SammyeGail]

The daughter over the estate was fine with our offer, we will hear back sometime today when the rest of the siblings chime in. Being close to the beach it's more a 'vacation home'. I do love the enclosed courtyard so so much. Who knows, we may move in a few years and rent it out long term, I can't stand our rental and want to 'settle' somewhere. I need to settle somewhere!