Finding a Townhouse for Rent: Potential Tenants Tips

There is always this tough dilemma when you strive to live in a single-family house, but you’re not ready to move to the suburbs. Have you considered finding yourself a townhouse for rent? There is a chance that this is exactly the lifestyle you’re looking for.

In case you decide to give this idea a go, we’ve prepared a guide on how you can rent a townhouse without additional hassle. But first, let’s find out what that ‘townhouse’ really means.

What Is a Townhouse?

While there are plenty of complicated explanations behind the ‘townhouse’ definition, we’d like to share the simplest one. Townhouses are terraced units that are owned by individual residents. Usually, you’ll see them being built in a long chain side-by-side, which means that there is no gap between them.

Townhouse residents always have a shared wall or even two; the buildings can have multiple floors. This gives you a taste of living in a real house, not a small apartment. Since you have your own terrace, yard, and lawn, it’s just like living in a single-family house.

Pros and Cons of Renting a Townhouse

Of course, any rental property has certain drawbacks and benefits. Considering the experience that our tenants shared with us before, we genuinely believe that we know for sure all the ins and outs of townhouse renting. Here we go.

Drawbacks:

• Less privacy, since you share walls with your neighbors
• Depending on the HOA, the fees vary from affordable to pretty high
• Limited renovation freedom

Benefits:

• Great location, since you get yourself a whole house in the city, not a suburb
• A sense of community with your neighbors
• Amenities that HOA and other community organizations may offer you (from garbage collection to swimming pools and gyms)

Use Verified Platforms to Find Townhouse Listings Online

The main point of your townhouse hunting should be getting yourself a decent place for a reasonable amount of money. Finding a verified landlord along with the ability to negotiate the final price is the best toolset you can get.

To make sure you only deal with verified landlords and real listings, you should choose the rental platform carefully. Here at Rentberry, we take away the stress of dealing with bad landlords thanks to our landlord verification process. We have thousands of townhouse listings across the world, and we’re ready to help you move wherever you’re located. Literally!

Meet the Neighbors You’ll Share the Walls With

Renting a townhouse means dealing with neighbors you share the wall(s) with. There is always a chance that you won’t have a picture-perfect relationship with them. Of course, it depends on the lifestyle you prefer. To avoid misunderstandings with your prospective neighbors, just meet them in person and have a quick chat.

You’ll definitely be able to see whether you’re going to enjoy their company or not. Make sure you ask them whether they like to throw big loud parties, hold their band rehearsals at home, etc. It’s wise to discuss the friction points right away.

Check the Previous Utility Bills Amount

Whenever you move into a new place, you’ve got to deal with the utility bills that always depend on the property type, size, location, etc. And, if you spend your whole life in tight condos, it might be a big surprise for you how high a utility bill might be in a larger place. To avoid having a budget-related headache, just ask to see the previous bills and make sure you can actually afford this rental. 

Unfortunately, sometimes the property price tag is excellent, but when you add the utility bills to that sum, you understand that it’s just not for you.

Check Who’s Responsible for the Yard and Adjacent Territory Maintenance

We bet you’ve already searched for townhouse renting tips on the web. This means that you’ve noticed how often the real estate blogs tell you two completely different opinions on this:

• Some of them say that the HOA is not responsible for the yard maintenance
• The other half says that HOA takes care of everything and takes a lot of money for that

The real situation here is that it depends on your townhouse’s community. Basically, some HOAs and local organizations prefer to take care of the yard, lawn, terrace, etc. For that, they might charge residents a decent fee.

Some of them only take care of primary tasks like taking the trash out and other small maintenance activities.

As a tenant, you just have to settle this question with your landlord before you actually agree to rent the place. Make sure you check this before you sign the contract cause it may be an unpleasant surprise afterward.

Ask If There Are Any Renovation Restrictions

Both HOA and your landlord can have their own renovation restrictions. This means that not all of your interior ideas may be put to life. If this is really important for you, request the guidelines that HOA and the landlord themselves have regarding the decoration, renovation, and other maintenance activities.

Discuss the HOA Fees and Ground Rules

As we’ve already mentioned above, the HOA fees and rules may vary. You have to know them before you rent the place, and it’s going to be your duty to comply with those rules.

Don’t forget to check this and make a truly informed decision regarding renting a townhouse.

Review Your Prospective Landlord References From Previous Tenants

Not all landlords are as kind and understanding as they show you during the open house and application process. There might be a real change of tone when you finally strike a deal.

To avoid getting yourself into a tough tenant-landlord relationship, we recommend interviewing a few previous tenants. You can ask them a few questions regarding their feedback about your prospective landlord. This can help you create a full picture and see who your landlord actually is and how they deal with their tenants.

Know Your Tenant Rights

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