Type of Home
Like location, the type of home you eventually choose will come to personal preferences and needs. If you need to live close to shopping and restaurants, you choices may be more limited to condos or townhomes in the city. Single family homes may also be possible, but you will most likely have to give up yard space compared to the suburbs. There are even newer home concepts coming to the market like tiny homes and Accessory Dwelling Units. We’ll go over some of the more common home types below. Your CityWorth real estate agent can help you decide on which options fit your situation.
Single Family Home
A single-family home is what most people think about when hearing the term home or house. There are also multi-unit homes that look like single family homes but they are split up into 2-4 separate residences. The property is sold as a single property. You get most of the same benefits of a single family home, but you share walls with other people. Your typical single family is detached from other properties. With a single family home, the homeowner is usually responsible for all maintenance inside and out. Depending on your homeowner’s association, upkeep of the lawn may be included in your homeowner’s association dues, but that is not common. A homeowner’s association is a group that manages a developed community that offers amenities such as a pool, playgrounds, and landscape around the community. With the management, comes an HOA fee (Homeowners Association fee). You may have heard stories about HOAs controlling colors of paint for house and giving fines for un-mowed grass. You many not want this oversight and you should look for a community without an HOA. If your community does have an HOA, make sure you review their documentation before buying the home so you know what they require.
Condo (Condominium)
A condo is a single unit that is part of a larger building made up of other condos. At least one wall will be shared with a neighbor and typically does not include any private yard space. There may be shared green space that is maintained by the condo association. Typically, the homeowner s responsible for anything inside the condo and the condo association is responsible for anything outside the condo and any amenities.
The amenities you get with a condo come with an HOA fee or condo fee that is often a large portion of your monthly mortgage payment. The amenities and condo fees can vary greatly between building so do your research before putting in an offer. Your CItyWorth mortgage banker will update your preapproval to include any condo fees.
A condo is typically closer to public transportation – something else that may be on must-have list.
Townhouse
A townhouse is usually consist of multiple levels and is taller than it is wide. Like a condo, you share at least one wall with another unit, but unlike a condo, you typically get a small amount of private green space. Townhouses may come with amenities and HOA fees similar to a condo or they may come with amenities closer to a single family development and lower fees. You’ll want to review the documents about the association to know what you get and what you have to pay.
Manufactured Home
Unlike the previous three types of homes, Manufactured homes are built off-site, transported to the location, and then assembled and connected to the utilities. The land may have already been purchased, be part of the transaction with the home, or leased.
Mortgage companies will each have their own abilities to handle all or just some of the scenarios. Contact your CityWorth Mortgage mortgage banker to understand what options they have available for manufactured homes.
Manufactured homes are typically less expensive that traditional single family homes and are typically smaller than single family homes. Building technologies have advanced recently giving some manufactured many more features than previously available.
Similar to a single family home, you may or may not have an HOA.