Difference Between a Townhouse & Single Home Units

Every Filipino’s dream is to have a home to call their own to grow and raise their family in. With the promising real estate investments, owning a home is now less difficult when all the planning, building, and development falls to real estate developers. Future homeowners can look into listings to find out what they fancy, and inquire for availability when a home unit catches their eye. When buying a home unit you might run into two terms that you will often hear from real estate professionals – Townhouse & Single Home Units. Here is a helpful guide on the difference between a townhouse and single home units.

Townhouses

Townhouses are home units built attached together in a row.  Each individual home is attached to the next by at least one connecting wall. Townhouses have smaller lots than a house and lot. These are often constructed narrowly and are two to three storeys tall. In some developments there are common spaces for the homeowner to enjoy such as park

As for ownership, townhouse generally falls into two types – freehold and condominium. Freehold townhouse is when homeowner owns the house and the plot of land it sits on, shares ownership of the common spaces. Condominium townhouse however, the land belongs to a Home Owners Association (HOA), where residents are obliged to pay monthly maintenance fees.

Single Homes

Single homes are units that are either detached or attached to other units, or single units that has their own plot of land. These units either share one wall with any other residence or not at all.  Attached Homes share at one wall with another unit, and Detached homes do not share a wall with other units. These units fall under the single homes category. As for ownership, Attached and Detached Homes are either freehold and condominium. House and Lot home units, however, have their own home unit standing on their own plot of land. are only units that is most likely available as freeholds (but some cases a Home Owners Association is involved). House and Lot homeowners own the home and also the plot of land it sits on unless otherwise stated by the developer. Should the homeowner consider to sell his property, this holds a huge advantage for that.

Whatever type of unit you look for or plan to buy, make sure to ask your agent or broker for questions to know the details of the unit you’re buying.