Have you ever heard the saying that the three most important things in real estate our location, location, location? Keep these words! Home‘s location is essentially the only thing you cannot change about it so location is usually near the top of everyone’s list.

If you are considering single-family home versus townhome, you should know that a townhome will probably be lower cost in terms of maintenance because the HOA often covers things like exterior maintenance and possibly things like roofing and windows. You would have to investigate what types of things are covered by your HOA fees. Your HOA fee could be in the range of a few hundred dollars a month, so this maintenance isn’t exactly free.

In general, single-family homes appreciate more and faster than townhomes or condos. Do you have any aptitude or willingness to learn about basic home maintenance? If you own a home of any type it’s a good idea to understand how basic systems work.

I recommend reading as much as you can on this topic. Visit the subReddit called firsttimehomebuyers and you will see the types of issues that people get involved in.

Good luck!