What to look for in a townhouse - my tips

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by jaybean, 10th Oct, 2017.

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  1. Property God

    Property God Active Member

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    What about those townhouses that has the bed rooms ground floor and living and kitchen upstairs.... a RE agent said developers do this to use up less land per townhouse.... so which setup is more valuable.... bedrooms on ground or bedrooms upstairs?
     
  2. jaybean

    jaybean Well-Known Member

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    More valuable as it attracts a broader market.

    Although I don’t see how it uses any less land?
     
  3. Property God

    Property God Active Member

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    Does anyone feel its less safe having the bedrooms at the bottom? Also how is it more accessable? Wether the bedroom/living is bottom/top or top/bottom you would need to access both floors.
     
  4. jaybean

    jaybean Well-Known Member

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    Because it appeals to the elderly with bad knees. To the hadicap. To parents who don’t want to carry their children up and down the stairs. The broader the reach the better price it will command.
     
  5. neK

    neK Well-Known Member

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    Neither in my opinion.

    For me I would want:
    Living + Kitchen + Toilet + Bedroom on Ground Floor
    Extra bedrooms / toilet upstairs does not impact me if I never go up there.
    Entry is no more than 3 steps (ie 60cm off the ground floor)

    (That said, I have yet to see such a config in a villa - except where the garage has been turned into a bedroom illegally).

    Its more about accessibility.

    Think of the different lifestages that one goes through.

    Single + Couple (No Kids) + Good health (No bad knees etc)
    Can move around without any issues.
    Single / Double storey does not matter.

    Couple (with Kids)
    Kids + Pram + Groceries
    (Imagine it from the point of a parent who is by themselves looking after the kids while the spouse is at work).

    Elderly (with bad knees)
    Try walking up stairs with bad knees.

    This is why Single storey wins.
     
  6. neK

    neK Well-Known Member

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    Another important element in accessibility is children and grocery shopping.

    On a single level villa, the car is usually <5m and within eyesight of the front door.

    That allows a parent to leave the kid strapped to the car (door open) and unloading groceries into the house (just inside the front door). Once that is done, they can carry the child into the house and slowly move items into the fridge one by one.

    Its these little things that make a big difference to a the width of the rental pool as well as emotional buyers when it comes to selling.
     
  7. JDP1

    JDP1 Well-Known Member

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    the performance of townhouses in that region has not had a significant impact till date...infact they are increasing in value.
    Also look at demand vs supply. the numbers are vastly different.
    eg.
    Brisbane City Property Market, House Prices & Suburb Profile

    it shows 177:312 demand to supply for apartments in the city
    compare that to a typical townhouse eg
    Coorparoo Property Market, House Prices & Suburb Profile
    which shows 611:312 demand to supply.

    Inner city toenhouses rank almost twice the average demand, whereas CBD apartments have a significantly less demand than their supply.
     
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