VACAVILLE, CA, Apr 23, 2024—Whether you're looking to buy your first space, downsize or retire to a lower maintenance home, you may be wondering what the difference is between a townhouse and a condominium. Below, Stephen Spencer, Bev Dorsett & Sue and Steve Kappel, Broker/Owners of Coldwell Banker - Kappel Gateway answers that question for us.
While most condominiums are apartments, a townhouse is attached to one or more houses and can run the gamut from duplexes and triplexes to communities with hundreds of homes.
“With a townhouse, buyers separately own their homes and the land on which the houses sit,” explains Sue and Steve Kappel. “With a condominium, the unit owners jointly own the land and this common interest cannot be separated from the others.”
Townhouses can be structured in many ways. Some, particularly huge communities, have common areas – such as swimming pools – that are similar to condominiums.
So what are the pros and cons of a townhouse?
On the plus side, exterior maintenance and repairs are minimal; there are no neighbors above or below the home like in an apartment; and because the homes are attached, they may offer a greater sense of security.
“As for the disadvantages, if there is a homeowner’s association, buyers will have to pay a homeowner’s fee,” says Sue and Steve Kappel. There is also less privacy than with a detached single-family home. And there are limits on how you can make exterior changes to the home.
How about the pros and cons of a condo?
“Condos are a good way to enter into homeownership,” says Sue and Steve Kappel. The generally higher price of single-family homes and the influx into the housing market of more single homebuyers have made condos relatively hot national investments. “They have held their value as an investment despite economic downturns and problems with some associations,” Sue and Steve Kappel notes.
Condominium associations have also worked hard in recent years to clean up their image. Disputes and lawsuits were once rampant. But now associations have become savvier about property management and have taken steps to prevent legal problems and disputes.
For more real estate information, please contact Coldwell Banker - Kappel Gateway at info@kappelgateway.com, 707-427-5344, or Coldwell Banker - Kappel Gateway.