Building a Townhome: Tips for the Wary Consumer

If you're building a townhome, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of having everything your way. But there are advantages and disadvantages to building a townhome and things you should keep in mind when choosing designs.

Size Matters when Building a Townhome
When picking a design and building a townhome, realize that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to add any square footage onto the house after it's built. Townhomes are usually part of Home Owners Associations who will deny permission for almost any structural additions onto your home. (Decks and patios are exceptions to this rule.) Therefore, when building a townhome, buy the biggest townhome you can afford. Every extension will be worth its weight in gold once you've moved into the house. It will also help with your townhome's resale value when people come into the house expecting a small and narrow box and finding a spacious inside. Remember, paint, flooring, and fixtures can all be updated easily for little cost down the road, so make the wise investment upfront when building a townhome. Bigger is better.

Place Outlets Carefully when Building a Townhome
Furnishing a townhome is a unique challenge, because the rooms in such a home are often longer than they are wide. Also, interior townhomes only have windows at the front and back, so the utilization of that space must be planned in advance. You don't want your one pretty picture-window wall having all the outlets on it, so that wires are showing. When building a townhome, figure out where you're likely to place your furniture (even the furniture you don't yet own!), and place outlets accordingly. Pay special attention to where you think you'll put the television set and computers. They will need not only outlets, but cable jacks or DSL access.

Bathrooms and Building a Townhome
Townhomes economize by taking advantage of vertical space. Most will have three floors. Some will even have four floors. When building a townhome, you should consider how you live your daily life, and whether or not it will really be practical for you to come in from shopping and run up the stairs to the second floor bathroom. If you can afford it, have a bathroom, or at least a powder room, on each floor of your townhome. If you can't, try to ensure that there's a powder room on the same floor as your kitchen or the main floor where you receive guests.

Elevation Concerns when Building a Townhome
Many townhomes don't have garages. If you live in a place where it snows, this can be a major downside to owning a townhome. However, townhomes featuring garages can be troublesome in their own right. If you found hauling groceries up flights of stairs to your apartment to be obnoxious, imagine having to do it every day in your brand new townhome. If you live in a climate where you can stand living without a garage on your first level, do without. If you can't, at least choose a townhome design where the kitchen and the living room are on the same level. Having to carry plates of food up and down a flight of stairs is not only inconvenient, but dangerous--for you and for your townhome carpets.

Building a townhome is an exciting step in home ownership and one you can enjoy if you keep these tips in mind!