Row house

30.03.2020

A row house combines a reasonably priced form of living with the dream of your own home. The proportion of land is generally smaller than with a semi-detached house, and facilities such as a garage, hobby room and play area for children can be shared.

Willingness to compromise

You can expect the highest quality of life from a corner row house because you generally have access to more land and the three walls provide more windows (and sunlight). However, you live wall-on-wall with other people on a relatively small piece of property where there are many more sources of friction and the willingness to compromise is needed.

Pros

  • The construction and maintenance costs are even lower than for a semi-detached house thanks to the low requirement for land and due to the common installations (e.g., the heating system).
  • Thanks to the small amount of property surrounding the house and their generally modest sizes, row houses are relatively inexpensive and simple to maintain.
  • For row houses with only two exterior walls the heating costs are low.

Cons

  • Row houses generally have only a small piece of property.
  • Because multiple parties live in the building, you have little personal freedom when it comes to designing the floor plan.
  • Many row houses have a narrow, small floor plan, which makes furnishing more difficult.
  • If you can't get a corner house, you have only two exterior walls with windows, which at best means little sunlight.
  • Direct contact with multiple neighbours can lead to conflicts, above all when the acoustic insulation is poor.
  • A resale is often not very easy.

Property types