single family home vs condo/townhome (Cape Coral, Fort Myers: real estate, foreclosure, condos)

[dreemcatcher]

Just wondering about the Fort Myers/Cape Coral market. Is there a benefit to not buying an attached unit (as far as resale)? I do like the communities with pools, but most of those in my price range are not single family.

I'm currently living in a townhouse in NC and my one gripe is that the insulation between our units is so poor that we can hear the neighbor's tv. Maybe the nicer units would avoid this problem?

[Kuota]

Pros
Semis and townhouses have some advantages. For one thing, they are less expensive to build than detached homes, because they share a foundation and a wall or walls. As a result, when you buy a semi or townhouse, you may get more home for your buck. Typically, a semi or townhouse the same size as a detached house in the same neighborhood will cost somewhat less.

Cons
Privacy may be a problem with both semi and attached homes. Noise from neighbors is the number one concern. New semi-detached houses and townhouses should be insulated to reduce sound transmission between party walls, and have rooms arranged so that the rooms or features that are adjacent on opposite sides of common walls are compatible. Stairwells set against common walls provide the greatest privacy. The worst layout would put a bedroom in one house adjacent to a recreation room in the attached home.

[rusty78]

I have lived in both...a house to a town house...and I can tell you...that a house is the way to go......in our town house...we live by the rules of others...some are enforced...some are not...and the worst part...some are enforced against some and not others......

It is nice never to cut a lawn...have a clean pool to swim in (within the allowed times/hours)...or worry about outside maintenance...but even with all the plus's of a town home...a free standing house is worth the extra expenses...and the absolute worse part of living in our town house is that I had to give up my grill......that alone makes the ownership of a house over a town house worth the extra $$$...

[dreemcatcher]

Thanks for the replies. You have to give up your grill? Oh my. I wouldn't like that either. I grill year round and it's nice to go out on my patio to do it.

I am well aware of the poor layouts in some townhomes. That has been my experience now. That was a big negative because I like my peace and quiet when I sleep.

I don't mind some rules, but it sounds like some of them are just a means to control people.

The two areas I had looked at for a townhome were Sandoval and Laguna Lakes. I don't know if they are really picky.

I think I was looking towards the townhome since I'm moving on my own. However, it sounds like there are some safe areas in Cape Coral and friendly neighborhoods. I'm not opposed to pushing a lawn mower and can always hire someone if I choose not to.

I don't need a lot of space, but it seems most places are close to 2000 sq ft.

[JudiPatooti]

I've lived in both a condo and private home (where we now live) here in South FL. Loved the condo, loved the people, but wouldn't do it again unless I had to--in case we didn't get as lucky as we did that time. I saw too many potential problems and others there were living with them.

Something as simple as living near a smoking neighbor if you're a non-smoker can be a problem. Three separate friends of ours, non-smokers, who lived in different parts of our complex were never able to open their windows or lanai doors (which is something you REALLY want to do during the gorgeous winter months) because they lived above smokers who smoked out on their lanai's. The smoke travels right up and into your unit through any open windows and lanai doors. Hard of hearing people--don't want to live above or under them, either, because if you do you'll hear their very loud tv ALL the time. Near a parking lot--you'll hear a lot of car door slamming at all times of the day and night. I could go on and on, but suffice to say "communal" living, if you like peace, quiet, and being "king or queen" of your own domain, can bring a lot of problems with it not even counting all the rules there will be. And, no, definitely no grilling! In our condo you could carry your meat and grilling tools through the parking lot, past three buildings and grill it on the one shared grill (for over 120 units) at the pool, and then carry that juicy steak back and eat it cold! Do make sure you are easy going enough for communal living before you jump into it. And, by the way, no lawn care? Clean pool? YOU pay for that in your monthly maintenance. If you get a small private home you can pay people to do those same things for you and I doubt it will cost you even as much as a condo's monthly maintenance will.

Again, we loved our condo (we only snow birded in it, which may be why we loved it so much, I don't know). I'm only trying to point out things that you might want to make sure you consider before plunking down your money. There were lots of "pros", too, but I can only speak for where we lived. We had lots of nice neighbors, some of whom we're still good friends with 4 years since we left. The condo get-togethers (holidays, BBQs, monthly breakfasts, etc. at the clubhouse were fun. You can make friends at the pool easily. I was often there as a single woman because my husband was still working up North and I always felt very safe, a very definite plus of condos. People looked out for me all the time. It was nice to know there were always people "around", in general. Neighbors drove other neighbors to doctors, to get their cars from the shop, ate out together, celebrated holidays together, watched each other's condos when one of them went away, watched over the snow-bird folk's condos, checked on old people, etc. But, I can't say if that's true for all condo complexes.

Have you considered a villa with a sensible layout (noise-wise)? I don't know if that would be any better, but they do only have one adjoining neighbor rather than one on each side and very possibly another above and a fourth one below you. They usually come with an attached garage, and you usually have a small piece of land to plant a few flowers, etc. around or in back of the villa along with your lanai.

Good luck in your decision!!

[dreemcatcher]

Thanks Judi

Actually, the two places I was looking at I believe are villas. Sandoval and Laguna Lakes. I did like the layout, but then also thought that it could be a pain having to walk my dog downstairs to go to the bathroom-sometimes in the middle of the night. I'm used to just letting her out in our fenced yard.

The smoking would be a horror and not being able to grill. I do like the idea of friendly neighbors and safety, but I assume I could get that in some neighborhoods? Are their some neighborhoods that seem more friendly with maybe houses closer together?

Basically, I think I've been told to stay in the south part of Cape Coral. Is this the safest part?

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by dreemcatcher

Just wondering about the Fort Myers/Cape Coral market. Is there a benefit to not buying an attached unit (as far as resale)? I do like the communities with pools, but most of those in my price range are not single family.

I have done both and I am currently living in a condo in the Chicagoland. As my wife has run the association for years after getting it away from the developer, we have been lucky that all twenty-eight units are paying their assessments on a near-timely basis. Therefore, we have had the money to keep the landscaping up, replace roofs and siding, and fund a reserve.

The neighboring development has approximately 10-15% of the units in foreclosure. To meet their, they have had to increase the assessments for the remaining owners. In a market like Cape Coral, you may have MORE vacancies to deal with.

Also, make sure that you understand WHO is running the association. Is it a professional management company who is aware of state and local law? Or is it a bunch of amateurs who may or may not be aware of state law.

Be very careful.

Do realize that you can purchase a home (instead of a condo), and put aside an "assessment" each month to pay for those items like home repairs, landscaping, lawn care and the like. Then you can hire a lawn service or other professionals to do the work.

[kroeran]

Casitas at Paseo are a compromise between townhouses and single family.

No shared walls or upstairs/downstairs neighbours and each unit has an outdoor room for your personal grill.

you miss out on the shared block swimming pool action though that the townhouses have, but you can walk down to the resort pool and tiki bar.

http://www.paseo-ftmyers.com/Inventory/InventoryDetails.aspx?&pid=1051001804 (broken link)

sorry for sounding like a real estate pro, I just have a second home there and love it