Ok...choices of properties available here in Australia are different from S'pore. I've been learning slowly over the past two weeks and here is a brief description of the four types that we are looking into. Of coz, there are way more than the following 4 types of dwelling available in this huge country.
Townhouse
Villa
House
- Stands alone.
- Doesn’t share any wall with any other house.
- Can extend part of the house if you want.
- Can tear down the house & rebuilt if you want coz the land basically belongs to you.
- However, if anything goes wrong in the house (eg. termites attack, roof tile need repair, plumbing problems), you will have to deal with it & pay for it yourselves.
- Probably the best resale value.
Duplex
- 2 houses are built on one piece of land
- If you like the design and condition of the duplex, it is a good buy.
- Otherwise it may not be such a gd buy coz u can’t tear down the house or rebuild your part of the house.
- Anything major change you want to do with your house must be approved by your neighbour leaving in the 2nd house.
- Is similar to a condo concept
- A cluster of 2 or 3 storey houses built in a compound
- Number of houses in compound varies
- Sometimes will come with security gate, pool, gym and tennis courts
- Must pay Strata quarterly – range between $250 to $750 – for upkeep of the place. Hence any repairs required to be made will be Strata’s responsibility.
Villa
- Similar to townhouse in everyway except that it is single storey.
- May stand alone or share one or two walls with another villa
