Home Buying Basics – Different Home Styles
Posted on May 23, 2009 in the Buying Property category
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No matter where you are in your life, buying a home may be in your very near future. National statistics indicate that most people move between five to seven times during their lifetimes, which means you’re likely to move at least once every 5-10 years.
Houses come in different styles that can match your varying needs at any phase in your life. There are condominiums suited for those living alone and for newlyweds. There are also single-family houses that can accommodate large families and even mobile homes for those who may want to move around. When buying a house, it is important to consider what each style of homes offers and if these match up to your needs.
The Condominium: Condos first became popular in the 1970s as more people wanted to live in urban areas without paying the high price of a home. Ilyce Glink, author of ’100 Questions Every Home Buyer Should Ask’ explains that when you buy a condo, you don’t necessarily own the unit. You’re actually investing in the common elements of the property that you share with the neighbors, and the airspace inside the walls, ceilings and flooring.
Townhouses: Townhouses are also called as ‘row houses’ due to the fact that they are arranged together in such a way that two units share a common wall. Town houses are much like single-family houses in terms of ownership terms. Some however, do require owners to be part of a homeowner’s association to pay for shared facilities such as fitness centers, laundry room, and parking lots.
Single-Family Houses: Single-family houses are very popular for first time homebuyers. There are a lot of styles and variations that you can choose from if you are considering to buy a single-family house. These houses can be built on one’s own lot or built within a small community. Owners of single-family houses have the sole responsibility for all expenses concerning maintenance and ownership of their house.
Mobile Homes: These homes are really portable or moveable houses. You do not need to buy land but most mobile parks charge for rent. Mobile homes have simple home amenities and are relatively more affordable than other types of homes.
Pre-Fabricated Homes: These are pretty much the same as mobile homes as both of them can be moved from one place to another. In addition, pre-fabricated homes generally rent out the land they sit on. Pre-fabricated homes however are superior to mobile homes with regard to building materials and construction.
Being familiar with the varied advantages and disadvantages of each kind of homes will make searching for the right home easier.
Forecasting your future for the next three to five years can also help you narrow down your choices; if you have a large family and want to stay in a particular neighborhood, a single family home or townhouse may be the best fit for you. If you’re young and single and not sure where you want to live in the next 5-10 years, a condominium may be a better investment as a first time home buyer.
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68 Responses to “Home Buying Basics – Different Home Styles”
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thanks for sharing such good informations
It doesn’t matter whether you’re living in the urban area or in the city area. I suggest buy those in the urban area as the price still can go up higher and faster when the infrastructures are ready.
- Glenn
Pacific Coast Inspections
California Home Inspection Experts.
Thanks.
You have some great basic information here that people should be familiar with as they begin the home buying process. But I thought that traditionally the term style applied to whether a house was a Ranch or a Colonial, or maybe the difference between a Flat/Garden style unit and Townhouse style unit.
As I was taught, what you’ve described is the difference in property types, condo properties are as you explain are very different from single family properties. It seems that you left out multi-family homes as well. Maybe you should touch on those and leave out pre-fab which is really a construction technique, (it seems likely to be confusing to try and explain permanent improvements vs. non-permanent to someone unfamiliar with real estate.)
Well, keep up the good work asnd I’ll be looking forward to your next post.
It is good idea to protect your family with adequate life insurance.
And I really do not have their homes.
It is more convenient especially if you have to work in big cities.
I truly think that all first time home buyers should do a little more homework before buying. It would be awesome if all of them could read your post as I think it would help them have a lot more understanding about their investment.
Great Job!
I have to say, the number of people I’ve met who don’t know the meaning of ‘townhouse’ is staggering!
Looking for help.
Landon
1. A mortgage lender friend of mine says that April will be his best month since 2005.
2. I wrote purchase contracts on two different properties today and received offers on two different listings this weekend. This constitutes the busiest weekend I have had in four years. One of the offers I received was for full price.
3. My wife, an escrow officer, says that April will be her busiest month since 2005. About 50% of the transactions are refinancing of existing mortgages and 50% purchase contracts. Yes, most of the contracts are of lower priced foreclosures but its still promising to see that so many people believe prices now “make sense”.
4. We have received more buyer leads over the last two weeks than we have in four years.
5. We are finding properties priced low enough that one can easily enjoy positive cash flow if they buy and then rent the property out.
I’m not saying that we can now declare that the bust is over and full steam ahead but if things keep going in this direction we very well may be seeing the beginning of a recovery.
thank you for your suggestions.
Thanks for the article, has really nice tips.
my favourite tyope of home
but can you really get a loan for buying that kind of house?
from what I gathered not many banks is eager to give money for that
in any case – very nice post and list of types of houses… thank you
bye
chris
your blog. if any body want to buy Property, homes near phoenix metro area . azprm.com provide you all in cheap rate
#1 – Stay away from lenders that come into YA spamming for business.
#2 – Avoid internet lenders. Some are reputable, doing what they say they are going to do, Some are not, and you’ll regret going to the internet for quite some time.
#3 – Once you select a lender, get pre-qualified. As acermill says, he can get a ham and cheese sandwich pre-qualified in about 10 minutes. So don’t get stars in your eyes about how much house you can buy, know your finances and shop accordingly
regards
fikri
guess its a condo for now.