What to look for in a townhouse - my tips

After spending a lot of time researching them, I figured I would be in a good position to share with you what I’ve learned. My understanding of townhouses has certainly changed compared to when I first started, some of the learnings are things I would have never thought of.

1) Location matters - more than a free standing house. With a house, one could make a good case for buying something further out, but cheaper. Most families after all have at least one car and don’t think twice about driving to buy groceries. With townhouses however, location is not just one of the points to consider, it is THE point. It is the reason you’ve made a compromise to buy a townhouse instead of a house. It’s the reason why you’re willing to live in something smaller, with a shared wall. There is no scale where: townhouse in good location = higher price, townhouse in bad location = lower price. No, that scale only exists for free standing homes. That scale is obliterated when you buy a townhouse - buy in a good location or don’t buy at all.

2) Condition matters - more than a free standing house. There have been times when I’ve bought a house, and thought to myself “if this thing is riddled with termites, I don’t care”. It’s true. I bought a house in an exceptional area once where I said “if it burns down tomorrow, I’ll still go through with it.” Free standing homes are all about the land. If you’ve never bought a townhouse before you may have the same mindset as me. You need to change that with a townhouse. Because you can’t touch the exterior, condition matters…a lot. You need to pay more attention to the actual building more than you would with any other purchase. What to look for? First of all, I want an all brick construction. A lot of modern townhouses are 100% fibre cement builds…yuck. If it’s rendered, you can tell it’s brick by the weep holes:



There’s a lot more to consider too, but you NEED to inspect it in person. You can’t buy a townhouse sight unseen like a free standing house. This is another big difference - if you’re from interstate, you’ll need to fly out and take a good look at it. Sorry guys, I know you'll hate to hear this. Likewise, a building and pest inspection is important, you should also try to be there for when they perform it. Again, this is all stuff I either don’t care about when buying a free standing house, or I do it but pay very little attention because they’re just not at the top of my list of priorities.

Also, neighbouring houses also matter, for two reasons. Firstly, since they’re all of the same build, if your neighbour has issues (e.g. big ass crack, mould issues) and you don’t, it means you might get it eventually. Secondly, even if you don’t get those issues, it drags down the look of the entire complex to have, for example, the rendering of your neighbour’s house peeling off. Even without a detailed review of the build quality and condition of the complex, just a general walk around can give you a really good feel for the place. Just wait outside the gate for someone to drive in and follow them in. I know it’s a bit dodgy but that’s how I researched all the complexes I had on my watch list. Are there bogans working on their cars in their driveway? Is the manager too relaxed and allows every townhouse to have different door knobs? Are there people hanging their washing on the verandah’s? Are there boats parked in common areas? Are there cars that look like they’ve been parked in the visitor area for months?

3) Get in touch with the body corporate manager and have a general chat, it can be very enlightening. For example, I got some valuable information about break-ins. He said that every townhouse complex in the suburb was being targeted by thieves, but they were only breaking into townhouses without security screens. It only cost me $900 to install, but the information was priceless.

4) On site managers are not bad! I used to think…why would I pay an extra $1k in BC fees every year for one. Now I’ve had a chance to talk to a few of them, watch them in action, and see how much of a positive contribution they make to the complex, I can say a good on site manager is worth their weight in gold. Don’t immediately rule them out. Remember, to qualify to be an on site manager you have to purchase a townhouse in that complex, so they have a vested interest in making sure it's well taken care of.

5) Depending on the shape of the complex, you may not want to buy all the way at the back. Yes it can sometimes offer a bit more privacy, but I’ve seen a few complexes that were really deep, and would have required quite a relatively long walk…not pleasant if you’re carrying 8kg in groceries! (remember if you buy near amenities like shopping centres, you’re going to get a lot of young professionals and people who like living within walking distance of shopping centres)

6) In my experience, complexes of 10-15 townhouses are quite rare, so don’t break your back looking for them. I’ve found that on average, a “small” complex is about 20-25.

7) Orientation is more important than a free standing house because you lose a wall (as it is shared by the adjoining townhouse). Try to make it so that adjoining wall is south facing. Obviously you want to make sure you’re at the end of the block too, not sandwiched between two others.

8) Some complexes have each owner store their own garbage bin. Some townhouses keep them all in a common area. If it’s the latter, make sure your townhouse isn’t near this.

9) I have found that complexes with a lot of communal parking spaces scattered all over the place feel more open. Even if it’s like 0.5 for every townhouse, it still helps a lot. The ones with just a few at the front of the entire complex tend to be super cramped with narrow roads.

10) Most of the rules for buying apartments apply here too: try to get something in an older complex, avoid communal facilities like pools etc.

11) Don’t buy one directly next to or opposite the front gate. The rattling of the gate as it opens and closes, and the banging of the side door every time someone walks in / out will drive you or your tenants insane.

12) Look for something a tiny bit leafy. I came across a few complexes that had almost no vegetation and they felt so sterile.

13) If you’re looking for a smaller complex, be careful that it’s not actually part of a bigger one. I’ve seen a few small complexes with another complex close by which were technically joined. The most I've seen was 5-6…some of them weren’t even physically connected. They didn’t have the same name. They were all on different streets. But…they were all part of the same strata! Your small 15-20 townhouse complex could end up being part of a 150 townhouse behemoth if you're not careful.

14) A final tip (QLD only) - some complexes split the water bill evenly, instead of basing it on use. If this is the case don’t bother paying for a water compliance report for your tenants. It’s a waste of money.

 

Nice one @jaybean

For me i like to make sure that i can actually park (and fit) a car in front of the garage.
That provides me with extra storage if I need it.

The other thing to look out for (and I've noticed this in Sydney in the last few years - even ones that are listed right now) - they are actually 2 bedder townhouses where they have converted the garage into a bedroom and then marketed as such.

The dead give away is the false wall between the garage and the bedroom. It would be ok if the garage still fit a car, but when you open the garage door and all you have is <1m then treat it as a 2 bedder, no matter who tells or how well it is dressed up as a 3 bedder.

Example: 1A/502-510 Liverpool Road Strathfield South NSW 2136 - Townhouse for Sale #126386186 - realestate.com.au

 

Thanks appreciate your insights. I'm still hesitant to be quite honest. Its also very hard it seems to find them without a pool or a gym or other communal facilities which of course then results in higher strata/body corp fees.

Looking now for something at least 180sqm of living space, small complex, without pool and gym and close to trains/transport/shops,hospital etc.....almost impossible to find this combination. LOL

 

I would also add-
1. rear of complex. Not just because its likely more private, but it will likely also be bigger/have a bigger courtyard and driveway may likely be straighter than the others.
2. 2 Car garage - as you mentioned, the older ones tend to be larger. also look for 2 car spaces as opposed to one. By far the majority of new/near new builds are one car space. Having 2 is a real selling point.
3. one flight of stairs and not two. 2 flights of stairs may put off elderley, and those with small children. Never a good idea to limit the market.
4. Aspect- North/Northeast facing. This one carries some weight as RE agents always pimp this feature in ads if the townhouse has it. Apparently it makes a difference.
5. Perhaps more for brisbane ( as brisbane is full of hilly terrain)- obviosuly near the top of a hill = better.
6. My personal favorite - needs to have good feng shui.. Dont laugh at this. Cannot be at end of T junction, roundabouts, no cul-de-sac, no railroads nearby, back yard/courtyard needs to be gently sloping ( slightly higher on LHS - this symbolises the dragon, and is a sign of prosperity) , clear and strong energy flow through front door ( and no back door facing front door to let the energy escape) , absolutely NO staircase facing the front door, good chi energy of land- ie is the land around lush and abundant? this is what you want. make sure your townhouse is slightly higher land than the one in front of it. Free entry and nothing blocking it- symbolises ease access of energy as symbolised by the phoenix- energy via the front can nourish the house.
mountains at back that symbolize strength and support ( represented as the turtle)- must have - dont buy without this feature! require more land at back than front- symbolises wealth accumulation, water features or river/bay in front, N/NE facing etc...again, do not laugh at this list of feng shui- laugh at your own peril ..there are forces at work here that no mortal can comprehend

 

what? no...these are easy to find in brisbane- most inner and mid areas satisfy these criteria.- quite a few on the market that satisfy this. Should be easy to find.

 

2. I'd say to be flexible on this one. This is because I've found they are more rare (quite rare, actually), so you'd massively reduce your pool of options if you insisted on this.

3. To add to this, I found that 1 story TH's can actually attract a premium in certain areas because of reasons you mentioned.

 

Depends on how strict your criteria is. I was after a proper brick build, no more than 800m from a major shopping centre, small complex, no facilities. This narrowed my options considerably.

 

Nice, comprehensive thread.

If you are buying a two storey townhouse, its brilliant if you can find one which has the master bedroom on the ground floor, this opens the market for you when selling.

Easier to find this with new products, developers acknowledge this is very important.

However, may be harder to find with older product, but I have seen a few.

 

Yeah exceedingly rare in older builds. That's why with older ones the demand for 1 story TH's was a little higher than I would have predicted.

 

Townhouses which are on one level are in high demand with new product as well and also fetch a premium and fly out the door.



MTR

 

What a wonderful and comprehensive post @jaybean ! You will help a lot of people with this info.

 

Thank @jaybean for that, really helpful for a beginner like myself. What is your opinion on the current supply/demand situation of townhouses in BCC? We've all heard of the unit/apartment oversupply but do you think there is a case also for townhouses? And do you think the unit/apartment oversupply will impact townhouses too? Thanks

 

Beith, are you looking to buy as a place to live or for investment? Only asking because it will change the types of responses you receive.

 

As an investment. Looking primarily for capital gains, but ideally still wants reasonable rental yields. I have a budget which will allow me to buy either an inner city (<5km) townhouse or free standing house further out (~15km from CBD). Trying to decide which will suit best for me. I've been leaning towards townhouses lately but I'm unsure as I'm aware there is an oversupply issue with apartments. I'm wondering whether that will eventually impact townhouses as well and also whether the locals in brisbane will view townhouses as an attractive middle ground in demand areas.

 

I posted this in another thread:

Here are the number of townhouses for sale in a few suburbs I own free standing homes in:

Sunnybank: 5
Sunnybank Hills: 21
Runcorn: 40
Calamvale: 120

Supply can be a problem but you need to go deeper. I don’t think it’s going to be an issue in the Sunnybank micro market for example.

 

Single-level townhouses are very popular with several demographics - parents with prams, the elderly and people with disabilities. This makes up a sizable proportion of the population. Not everyone is a fit young professional or wants to pay for a lift. For example a few years back it took us an entire year to access a single story TH for my elderly mother to purchase. We were looking in several suburbs too, not just one or two. They sold the moment they went onto the market.

 

What's your opinion on Townhouses in inner city regions (<5km)? I've heard there's an apartment oversupply in a lot of these areas, do you think that will have a significant impact on townhouses too?

 

I second the idea of a bedroom downstairs with a full bathroom. Double LUG is a nice juicy extra. Top it off with a good size balcony. Ducted A/C ooh la la.

At the front of the small complex WITH its own driveway will give it a "house feel". Full brick. Wide staircase and all other mod cons.

 

That’s the million dollar question isn’t it. I’ve obviously made a bet that it won’t be a problem, we’ll see in a few years

 

If in a strata complex the land/build ratio needs to be considered as the land is what goes up in value overtime.