Attached vs Detached Homes
Every potential homebuyer should know and be familiar with the different types of homes. It’s a good idea to know the basic home choices in the marketplace and the differences in style and design.
The two basic types of homes are attached and detached. Simply stated, a detached home is just that: a home detached from any other type of housing unit and standing alone. Detached includes homes and patio homes. Attached units include condominiums, apartments, row houses, duplexes, townhouses and the like.
Detached units are generally pricier and come with more responsibility in exchange for privacy and freedom.
Attached units are usually less expensive because they have little or no land and share at least one wall. Little or no land means no yard or outer maintenance concerns.
Attached Homes
Condominiums share walls and/or ceilings with another tenant and ownership is limited to the interior of your living space. A deed to the unit is rewarded upon purchase and financing can be obtained with an independent mortgage. Common areas such as the walkways, lawns, recreation areas, sidewalks and exterior portions like the roof and walls are shared costs by all the owners of the condo.
Cooperatives or co-ops are similar to condos in that the ownership is shared. The important difference is that instead of purchasing the title to your living space you are buying shares in the company that owns the property. In this instance you do not own a piece of real estate. The company takes out one mortgage and each shareholder pays their part of the financing. A big drawback of co-op living is that if any shareholder fails to pay their share the remaining shareholders must take up the slack.
Townhouses are the most popular form of the attached home. This is most likely because it is most similar to a detached, single unit. Ownership of these types of attached homes is known as a deed-out or fee-simple ownership. Purchasing the deed to a townhouse includes the interior living space but also the surrounding property.
Detached Homes
Ownership of a detached, single-family unit saves you from worrying about your neighbors and the issues they bring but does bring other concerns. Things like local zoning codes, noise ordinances, and neighborhood restrictions must be taken into consideration. Detached homes are always a good investment because buyer demand is high. They appreciate rapidly in strong markets and hold their value well in weak markets.
Your new home will be an earthly paradise with a little research and good planning.