Townhouse
REM #A812
By Ilyce R. Glink
Summary: A reader asks whether a having a pool in a townhouse community raises the value of each townhouse. This depends on whether other local townhouse communities have pools. A pool will cost townhouse residents more in fees and upkeep, but if it’s the only pool in the area it can help increase your townhouse's value.
Q: In a townhouse community (where units are owned as condominiums), does a community pool automatically raise the sales price of individual units?
A: That's a great question, but there's no easy answer. That's because adding a significant community improvement like a pool, work-out facility, or other freestanding structure has significant upfront and then ongoing costs that will add something to everyone's monthly maintenance fee.
If the condo association takes on debt to pay for a $150,000 to $200,000 pool with beautiful landscaping surrounding it, outdoor furniture, and a restroom, paying off that debt can involve instituting a special assessment, or simply raising ongoing monthly maintenance costs.
While having an amenity like a pool might make the community more attractive to other buyers, and thus raise prices somewhat (or hold them steady in a falling market), some buyers will be unable to afford the special assessment or an increased assessment.
The question you have to ask is will the benefits of building the pool more than offset the costs of installing and maintaining it down the line? If yours is the only community that doesn't have a pool, you probably have to build one just to compete. If yours will be the only community to have a beautiful pool, then it will likely raise the value of the property, even if it is only a little.
I hope this helps.
NOTE: Ilyce R. Glink's latest ebooks are "Credit Scoring Secrets" and "How to Find a Great Real Estate Agent," which are available at her new, all-video website, www.expertrealestatetips.net. If you have questions, you can call her radio show toll-free (800-972-8255) any Sunday, from 11a-1p EST. You can also write to Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, IL 60022 or contact her through her website, www.thinkglink.com ©2008 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.
For more information on townhouses, view Ilyce's video "What's a Townhouse?"
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