5 ms·

I don't know what you're picturing, but I'm in the process of buying a two-family home in Providence and it invalidates each of your objections: - There is a d

I don't know what you're picturing, but I'm in the process of buying a two-family home in Providence and it invalidates each of your objections: - There is a detached garage and a basement, so you have workshop options similar to any homeowner's. - There is a yard (and this is common in most U.S. cities where two-, three-, and four-flats are prevalent). - Of course you can modify the outside of the house? I'm confused by this objection. You own the home. You can modify its appearance within the bounds of the law, just as you can with a SFH. (Edit: perhaps you're imagining owning a unit in the home and not the home itself? That makes more sense.) Obviously, it's not exactly like living in a SFH; it's a multi-family building, after all. But I've lived in these kinds of two-flats both as a renter and a homeowner and it's much more like owning (even as a renter) than it is like living in an apartment "complex."

notJim 6y ago
In your two-family home, who gets to decide what color the building is? It would be sort of interesting to have an ongoing war between both occupants, but probably not a good way of structuring things long term.
- bsanr2 6y ago
  You get to paint your half. Unless their dwelling completely enclosed yours, I don't see the problem.
  - notJim 6y ago
    Now that you mention it, I actually have seen that arrangement before. It can look really cool if both people have complementary taste.
  - asdff 6y ago
    Sometimes you have a homeowners agreement limiting what you can do about the appearance of the property.
- dionidium 6y ago
  I think we're getting some terms crossed. In my two-family home I will own the entire building. I will live in one unit and will rent the other unit to another family. So I (read: my wife) decide what color the building is. (This kind of owner-occupied arrangement is historically very common in my neck of the woods.)
  - notJim 6y ago
    So that's not an arrangement where both occupants get to control the building then. It's a situation where you get to control it, and if your tenant doesn't like it they can pound sand. It obviously does not address the scenario your parent is describing.
    - dionidium 6y ago
      I would argue that (in the U.S. at least) there is an obvious and well-understood distinction between, "owning a multi-family home" (as the OP phrased it) and, "owning a unit in a multi-family home." The former is widely understood to mean ownership of the entire building (in every city I've lived in where two-, three-, and four-flats are common). These kinds of buildings are not priced much higher (if at all) than single-family homes and owner-occupied arrangements (meaning the owner of the entire building occupies one unit in the building) are extremely common.
- CydeWeys 6y ago
  Does it matter that much? On my list of priorities in choosing a dwelling, if I'm allowed to change the exterior color is far, far down the list. I do in fact own a fully-detached house and I never bothered to change the exterior color, and nothing in my life would be any different if there were, say, an HOA in place that prohibited me from changing the exterior color.
  - notJim 6y ago
    Painting the house is a stand-in for having control over the building. You might not want to, but you might want to run ethernet or plant different plants or install a better dishwasher or any number of other options, which may or may not be possible depending on arrangement.
    - CydeWeys 6y ago
      How would any of those other examples be prohibited in a dwelling that you own? Look, I get it, you prefer a detached dwelling. But all the arguments you're making aren't compelling at all. It really sounds like it comes down to a preference thing for you.
      - asdff 6y ago
        Some duplex/townhome setups don't really let you do those things if they have something like a home owners agreement in place, which is sort of rare for detatched dwellings aside from some developments.

notJim 6y ago

In your two-family home, who gets to decide what color the building is? It would be sort of interesting to have an ongoing war between both occupants, but probably not a good way of structuring things long term.

bsanr2 6y ago
You get to paint your half. Unless their dwelling completely enclosed yours, I don't see the problem.
- notJim 6y ago
  Now that you mention it, I actually have seen that arrangement before. It can look really cool if both people have complementary taste.
- asdff 6y ago
  Sometimes you have a homeowners agreement limiting what you can do about the appearance of the property.
dionidium 6y ago
I think we're getting some terms crossed. In my two-family home I will own the entire building. I will live in one unit and will rent the other unit to another family. So I (read: my wife) decide what color the building is. (This kind of owner-occupied arrangement is historically very common in my neck of the woods.)
- notJim 6y ago
  So that's not an arrangement where both occupants get to control the building then. It's a situation where you get to control it, and if your tenant doesn't like it they can pound sand. It obviously does not address the scenario your parent is describing.
  - dionidium 6y ago
    I would argue that (in the U.S. at least) there is an obvious and well-understood distinction between, "owning a multi-family home" (as the OP phrased it) and, "owning a unit in a multi-family home." The former is widely understood to mean ownership of the entire building (in every city I've lived in where two-, three-, and four-flats are common). These kinds of buildings are not priced much higher (if at all) than single-family homes and owner-occupied arrangements (meaning the owner of the entire building occupies one unit in the building) are extremely common.
CydeWeys 6y ago
Does it matter that much? On my list of priorities in choosing a dwelling, if I'm allowed to change the exterior color is far, far down the list. I do in fact own a fully-detached house and I never bothered to change the exterior color, and nothing in my life would be any different if there were, say, an HOA in place that prohibited me from changing the exterior color.
- notJim 6y ago
  Painting the house is a stand-in for having control over the building. You might not want to, but you might want to run ethernet or plant different plants or install a better dishwasher or any number of other options, which may or may not be possible depending on arrangement.
  - CydeWeys 6y ago
    How would any of those other examples be prohibited in a dwelling that you own? Look, I get it, you prefer a detached dwelling. But all the arguments you're making aren't compelling at all. It really sounds like it comes down to a preference thing for you.
    - asdff 6y ago
      Some duplex/townhome setups don't really let you do those things if they have something like a home owners agreement in place, which is sort of rare for detatched dwellings aside from some developments.