Buying a Brooklyn Townhouse - The Official Guide

Living in the New York area creates a difficult choice for some homebuyers. Do you want to live in an apartment in the city or reside in a house in the suburbs with more indoor (and outdoor) space?

Owning a townhouse in Brooklyn however, provides the best of both worlds so you don’t have to choose. Townhouse living allows you to enjoy all that the city has to offer plus the feeling of living in a single-family home with a garden or backyard area.

While the lifestyle of a townhouse may be what you are looking for, remember that townhomes aren’t exactly cheap though. Compared to an apartment in Manhattan or Brooklyn, townhouses do come with a higher sticker price. As such, you will want to understand the nuances of buying a townhouse before you shell out all that money.

Below we’ve compiled our official guide to buying a Brooklyn townhouse so you know what to expect in your home buying process.

What is a townhouse?

A townhouse is a multi-floor property that shares one or two walls with an adjacent building, but has its own entrance. If you’ve spent any time in Brooklyn, you’ve likely past countless tree-lined streets with townhouses ranging from simple to ornate.

Types of Brooklyn Townhouses  

• Brick Townhouse
• Brownstone Townhouse
• Limestone Townhouse
• Clapboard Townhouse
• Vinyl-Sided Townhouse

Brick townhouses are row homes with - you guessed it - a brick facade. Popularized during the Federalist-style, brick townhouses can be found most notably in neighborhoods like Cobble Hill in Brooklyn, as well as other northeast cities like Philadelphia and Boston. Many of these homes are more than 200 years old and give a historic and distinct appearance. Entrances will be street level or just a few steps up, and in rare cases you will still see carriage house style garages.

The quintessential brownstone townhouse is a brick row home faced with a reddish-brown sandstone. Built primarily in the mid-to-late 1800’s, these recognizable properties can be found across Brooklyn in areas like Brooklyn Heights, Clinton Hill, and Carroll Gardens. The more elaborate exterior was a step up from the early brick homes of the area. Notable features include ornate trim above windows and entry areas, commonly referred to as the Italianate style, as well as their high front stoops.

Limestone townhouses arrived later than the early iconic townhomes. With the arrival of the 20th century, limestone began to be used as material signifying grandeur and prosperity. The limestone facades give a lighter appearance than their brownstone cousins, and tend to be intermingled with brick design. In Brooklyn, you are likely to find limestone-faced townhouses in areas like Park Slope.

Clapboard townhouses are a rare breed of townhome nowadays. Very popular during the colonial period of the 1700’s through the early 1800’s, these wood-framed homes were identified by the overlapping wooden planks that sided the exterior. There are still a few sporadic clapboard townhomes in Brooklyn Heights and Clinton Hill within Brooklyn.

The more recent vinyl-sided townhouses round out the choices in Brooklyn. As you pass through the streets of Williamsburg or Greenpoint, in between the boutique metal and glass boutique condos, you will find vinyl-sided townhouses. With less grandeur and simpler stoops, these row homes are clad with the vinyl siding popular in the late 20th century.

Given the historic nature of some of these properties, some townhouses can get landmark status. The Landmark Preservation Commission offers a guide to research historic properties.

Best Neighborhoods for Brooklyn Townhouses

• Brooklyn Heights
• Cobble Hill
• Carroll Gardens
• Clinton Hill
• Bedford-Stuyvesant
• Boerum Hill

No more common charges, all the responsibility

There is a clear trade-off when transitioning from a large condo or co-op building to owning a townhouse. While you will say goodbye to monthly common charges or maintenance charges, you will also say hello to all of the responsibility for the maintenance of the property.

One of the benefits of owning a condo or co-op, the cost of upkeep and larger repairs for the building is spread across all of the owners. Townhouses are different. If the water heater breaks or the roof of the townhouse develops a leak or needs to be replaced, it can be an unexpected whammy for the townhouse owner.

Townhouse buyers can prepare for their newfound responsibility by pro-actively reserving funds for unexpected repairs.

Home inspections are a must for townhouses

It is always a good idea to have a home inspection completed when purchasing any property, but it is an absolute necessity when purchasing a townhouse.

Many Brooklyn townhomes were built in the 1800’s or early 1900’s. They are quite simply older buildings that have more potential pitfalls hiding from an untrained eye. There are more structural issues to consider, facade conditions to review, older roofs to inspect that may not have been cared for properly over the years, as well as electrical wiring or plumbing to determine the safety of.

In addition, related to your complete responsibility for repairs once you own the home, having an initial inspection will inform you of what systems may need repairs or upgrades early in your ownership. 

Property taxes will positively surprise you

While townhouse owners shoulder all of the financial costs for maintenance and upkeep, they will rejoice to know that they will pay relatively less in property taxes.

Townhouses that are single-family, two-family or three-family are in a different property tax classification than condo or co-op buildings. As a result, townhouse owners will pay much less in property taxes than a similarly sized condo unit.

The wider the townhouse, the better

Townhouses have additional nuances that can affect their value above and beyond comparing the location and price per square footage to real estate comps in the area. One of the most important differentiating factors townhouse experts hone in on is the width of the townhome. 

The average townhouse in Brooklyn is approximately in the range of 18 feet to 20 feet, with the most attractive homes measuring wider than 24 feet. Wider townhomes provide a few benefits, including: 1) better flow room to room, 2) easier to design and furnish room layouts,  3) more room for staircase, and 4) more natural light from more or wider windows,  

Outdoor space is better than a balcony

If you had the luxury of outdoor space in your previous apartment, it was likely only a simple balcony or small terrace. One of the amazing benefits of moving into a townhouse is the increased outdoor space that you will have.

As Brooklyn residents have been spending more time at home post Covid, homebuyers have been flocking to Brooklyn townhomes with large backyards or garden patio spaces. In fact, there has been a wave of buyers trading in Manhattan condos in favor of Brooklyn townhouses.

No doorman, less amenities

Townhouse culture shock can be a real thing, and buyers need to be aware of the lack of day-to-day amenities. Townhouse owners need to go in eyes wide open that they won’t have all of the conveniences that their former full-service, doorman building offered. 

You will no longer have a greeting from your doorman when you arrive home, your packages won’t be received and stored by the building’s concierge, and there won’t be the convenience of porters putting the garbage to the curb during the week.

That’s not to say you won’t survive, but you will need to adjust.

Single family vs. multi-family townhouses

Similar to unattached homes that are not row homes, there are both single-family townhouses and multi-family townhouses.  As it relates to this, there are two interesting trends that have been occurring between single and multi-family townhouses.

First, wealthy buyers in Brooklyn have been buying multi-family townhouses and converting them into super luxury single-family townhouses following gut renovations. 

Second, high-earning millennial buyers interested in townhouse living are purchasing multi-family townhomes as both their primary residence and investment property. 

Living in and renting out the additional units of a multi-family townhouse allows savvy owners to take advantage of low interest rates and grow their personal balance sheets. If within your budget, it can be a great way to climb the property ladder quickly.

Townhouse closing costs are similar to condos

You’ll need more than just a down payment to buy a Brooklyn townhouse, as there are additional closing costs. The closing fees for a Brooklyn townhome will be comparable to a condo with the same purchase price. You can estimate these fees with Prevu’s closing costs calculator.

Closing Costs Brooklyn Townhouse ($3,250,000 purchase price, 25% down payment)

• Attorney Fees - $5,000
• NYC Mansion Tax - $48,750
• Title Insurance - $14,625
• Bank Attorney - $1,500
• Mortgage Recording Tax - $50,050
• Other Closing Costs - $4,000
• Total - $123,925

How to save when you buy a Brooklyn townhouse

The best way to offset the majority of your closing costs on a Brooklyn townhouse is to receive a commission rebate from your buyer’s broker. For example, Prevu offers townhouse buyers up to 1.5% of your purchase price cash back with the company’s Smart Buyer Rebate Program.

Browse listings and see how much you can save on your dream Brooklyn townhouse.

Luxury Brooklyn townhouses for sale