Quote:
Originally Posted by Busch Boy
I personally wouldn't buy a townhouse or condo. Some of them cost the same as a SFH would, when you factor in HOA fees and the property taxes are usually not much cheaper. Plus you share walls and ceilings with people and hear their noise, one of the big CONS of renting. Except now you're dealing with it as an owner.
The best way to go if you want to downsize is getting a tiny 2-bedroom SFH on a small plot that requires little maintenance.
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I'm in a condo. It made sense for me and was affordable. The only place where I would have been able to purchase a SFH in Monmouth County would be somewhere like Keansburg, and I actually considered it but was put off by the fact that the entire town was considered high risk for flood and I would need to buy the insurance. Turned out to be the right decision.
I only hear the neighbors on the one side coming down their stairs if I am on the living room couch because their stairs are on the other side of that wall.
I was in my 50s when I was buying, and in my last rental of a SFH I had to shovel the snow and take care of the yard. I'd rather pay the fee to have someone else magically appear when it snows and take care of the grass in summer. I have a fenced-in patio and garden area of my own out back where I can grow things.
Also, I was one of seven kids, so I think that made me much less of a delicate princess when it comes to hearing noise. You learn to block stuff out and it doesn't bother you. I notice that difference in my daughter, who is an only.
My property taxes dropped to $3800 after the town did its first assessment in about fifteen years. Maintenance fees are $280 a month, and 24% of that is insurance for the buildings (different from my own "walls-in" insurance.)