Should You Buy a Condo, Townhouse, or House?
Each type of housing has pros and cons—for your budget and your lifestyle
Housing choices are abundant, especially in urban areas, leaving many first-time home buyers wondering which type of residence to buy. Each style of dwelling—condominium, townhouse, and detached home—has its pros and cons. Buyers should consider their lifestyles and budgets, as well as how much they want to be involved in home maintenance when deciding which type of home works best for them.
- Townhouses, which are generally attached to other residences, are defined by ownership—which includes the land the home is situated on, front and backyard areas, and the home’s exterior.
- Condominiums provide the most hands-off approach to homeownership and are physically indistinguishable from rental apartments.
- Condos are often cheaper than townhouses because they come with no land; the exterior and land are considered common areas shared by all residents.
- Condo owners pay monthly homeowner association (HOA) fees that can be significantly higher than those on townhouses, partly because they cover exterior maintenance.
- Detached homes often provide owners with the most freedom when it comes to improving the structures or the land that comes with them, but they may lack many of the amenities of condos and townhouses.
Should You Buy a Condo, Townhouse, or House?
What Is a Townhouse?
Less experienced home shoppers may want to know what makes a residence a townhouse. The physical description alone—a narrow, multilevel residence attached to other residences on a street—is not always a clear giveaway because some areas have condominium communities featuring two- and three-story attached residences.
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