Does a townhouse have common fees?
Well, it depends.
A “townhouse” is the phrase used to describe a house that is attached to other homes on one or both sides — i.e., a row house. They’re laid out vertically, with stairs — or for the really fancy ones, an elevator — providing the transportation from floor to floor.
So “townhouse” describes what the house looks like physically, but it isn’t a form of ownership.
Such a house could be a single one-family home — like the one that you saw Carrie Bradshaw come bouncing down the steps of on Sex in the City. In that case, the owner is responsible for paying city taxes — probably a five-figure bill — and would pay for maintenance costs like keeping the roof in good working order.
But such a house could also be part of a homeowner’s association, and be marketed as a condo, or more rarely, a co-op. In that case, there would be monthly common charges (in the case of a condo) or maintenance charges (in the case of a co-op) that would cover maintenance of common lawns and hallways, the salary for the super, etc.
So the bottom line is, when you see that cute townhouse and you want to know what its monthly bills will be, you have to ask.