Buying Townhomes: Shared Space And Shared Responsibility
Posted on: 5 January 2019
Townhomes offer buyers a relatively large swath of property for a lower price than what might be required when buying a detached house. Even if the townhome is narrow, the buyer gets more floors, no other residents overhead, and possibly even a small yard in back. Compared to apartment-building-style condos, a townhome can be a nice acquisition. However, as with any type of housing, there will be issues related to the style of building that a buyer needs to address early on. Knowing how the townhome association handles these issues can be the difference between enjoying and regretting your purchase.
Landscaping Boundaries
In a townhome, you'll have units on either side of you. Even if you have a corner unit, if the building is set up so there are two rows of adjacent townhomes back to back, you'll still have two adjacent units to deal with. Each of these units will likely have its own patch of ground for a small garden by the door, and the building as a whole may have landscaping around the property.
So the question is, if there is exterior landscaping, where does your responsibility begin and end? How much of that landscaping is the townhome association's responsibility, and what is yours? Where is the property line between your space and the patch of shrubbery your neighbor should care for?
Another issue is what to do if your neighbor's landscaping choices interfere with yours. In other words, you need to know what steps to take if your neighbor plants something invasive, or plants something that you're highly allergic to. The reverse is true, too -- you need to know how much say your neighbor has in what you plant.
The townhome association should have plans showing exactly where your property ends, and the regulations should address landscaping disputes. If you can't get a copy of these at one building, look at other townhomes.
Shared-Feature Repairs
As townhomes, the units have shared features like between-unit walls and the roof. If you need to repair your section of roof, you'll likely need permission from adjacent units as the work will affect their property as well (via noise and workers walking overhead). You need to know the association's process for ensuring owners can make timely repairs to their units without running roughshod over neighbors, and vice versa.
Quiet Enjoyment
"Quiet enjoyment" is the concept that a resident has the right to enjoy property without others interfering, and without interfering with others. In other words, you can watch TV in your living room, but you can't make it so loud that your neighbors have to hear it and can't block out the noise. If your neighbor listens to music with such a forceful bass line that your furniture is shaking, you could say the neighbor is interfering with your right to quiet enjoyment.
While most people associate this with noise, it can extend to smoke and other issues that could cause the resident of the unit that the issue is not located in to experience that issue unwillingly. Quiet enjoyment is recognized legally in most places, but enforcement at individual properties can vary according to management whims. For example, noise might not be considered an issue until a certain number of units complain. Or, it could take only one unit to complain for the association to crack down. Find out how the association at the townhome complex deals with enforcement.
Your real estate agent can help you find listings for townhomes that have the features you need, from yards to thick walls. Townhomes often become tight-knit communities filled with like-minded owners (regarding living conditions), so you should be able to find a wide selection of properties.
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