Thinking About Purchasing A Townhome? 2 Tips To Know Before You Buy
The home buying process can be quite intimidating if you have never done it before. While you may have toured a lot of single family homes, you may have found your tastes shifting towards getting a townhome. These multi-family units have a couple more things to consider when compared to their single family home alternative. Be aware of these two things:
Read Over The HOA Agreement
Since townhomes often share features with surrounding units, such as the walls, yard, and roof, it's common for them to be part of a homeowners association. An HOA can be a huge benefit of living in the building since it helps take care of many of the maintenance items you would otherwise be responsible for.
For instance, an HOA will collect a monthly fee that is put towards a general fund that helps pay for things such as roof repair, lawn care service, or even painting the exterior of the building.
However, you should be very familiar with the HOA rules before you buy a townhome. HOA regulations could be more strict than you envisioned, which is why you want to get a copy and read over them.
Common regulations that you may have to deal with involve renting out your unit, which includes long-term subleases or participation in services like Airbnb. You can be restrictions on how the exterior of the townhome looks, with limits on what kind of fencing you can put around your yard or what color the exterior is. As long as you are okay with the HOA restrictions, it can be a great place to live.
Consider New Construction
Many townhomes are built in mass numbers, with the goal to sell the units before construction even finishes. This could be a great opportunity to get into a townhome and have some say in the customization of the space.
The one thing you want to watch out for is what your legal options are if construction doesn't finish on time. You may be trying to plan the end of your current lease with the completion of the townhome, and could not have a place to live if construction is delayed. Just be sure that it is spelled out in your contract what happens if there are delays and that you are compensated appropriately for it.
For more information and assistance with choosing townhomes in your area, contact a company like Home-Mega.
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