Well I am a bit averse to even buying condos/TH for investment. HOA fees ding the cashflow. I prefer SFHs on small manageable lots.
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I guess… But I would personally prefer the acre lot over the zip code 
I think I toured that TH’s. No backyard whatsoever. 3 stories, but otherwise ok. Feels like you’re part of RWC though.
Actually it is ideal to buy condos in non-trophy neighborhoods. Cash flow is very good and appreciation is plenty. In trophy neighborhoods, however, you’d want to have a SFH over a condo but sometimes owning a condo in a trophy neighborhood can work out better than owning a SFH in some other neighborhoods, from an investment perspective.
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SImilar issues will come, from neighbors, in SFH, but may be less.
Two times my neighbor reported.
One time, when kids saw war movies, she was telling gun sound outside…etc. The distance between both house is appx 25 feet away. We moved home theater system far away room.
Second time telling me the tree leaves are falling to her yard and asked my gardener to remove those leaves. I really hate that comment, I cut that tree. She was stunned and told me that they did not mean to cut tree, I told her we do not like any future comments like that.
It stopped now.
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There are no TH in Atherton…probably in unincorporated Redwood City… East of El Camino is Redwood City.
In the 70s townhouses near Atherton were $45k and houses in Atherton nearby were $60-80k
Now the houses are $3m -$10m and the town houses are $800k-$1.2m… the spread keeps widening…
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I had a bad experience with my HOA when I sold my townhome. They just adopted new CCRs and one of them was an inspection was needed to determine that the unit was conforming with all codes for the CCRs. the inspection was $300 and it uncovered a gas fireplace and window air conditioner that had been installed in the wall. Both were unpermitted. The previous owner had them installed.
I had to get a licensed contractor to inspect them to insure they were safely installed and there was a problem with the fireplace. They demanded that I change it back but there was a problem with that. The air quality resources board banned to conversion of gas stoves to wood burning so I couldn’t get get a licensed contractor to do it. We argued back and forth before we settled it. It cost me well over a thousand to satisfy them.
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Neighbors can be a pain, period. One would think you should be able to add a second story to your home on land you own. Your neighbors can block it though. Every city has local ordinances that a neighbor can complain about.
The only legitimate gripes I can think of would be the blocking of an existing view or a creating of a significant shadow onto someone’s yard (IMHO)…
I also did not think there were any TH in Atherton:thinking:
Doesn’t mean they can’t tie it up for months/years in planning/zoning meetings. Look at SF where a building was going to create a 2% increase in shadow on a park.
Totally agree on the delaying, but it has to be a legitimate concern. My buddy had it done to him by his neighbor, an old lady. He was planning to redo his entire home and add a floor. SF Planning was ok with project and approved it. Neighbor decides to fight it, for a year. Her concerns were not legitimate (no view gone, no real shadow impact), yet, she pressed on and paid whatever the complaint fees were. Eventually she lost and finally gave up. A waste of a year.
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True, always extension are challenged when neighbor has swimming pool. I had seen two extension was delayed as neighbor reported that people can see their swimming pool from the window position. It was hard (or costed more ) to replan the room without windows. This happens to single story too with some privacy concerns from neighbors.
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Depends on who would be using said swimming pool, no??? 
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Is 94027 not an Atherton zip code? @Terri went to an open house there too. Anyway Atherton or not doesn’t really concern me. I don’t have particular feelings about trophy neighborhoods like that, not snobby enough.
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Atherton is too much for me. My only aspiration is Palo Alto. But I also would’ve been ok settling for West San Jose… 
According to Google Maps it is in fact Atherton. I had not been aware of that when I’d visited it.
I also don’t see at all what the zip does for anyone. It’s the acre lot, tree lined streets, and mansion that’s important.
Just so we all know, this is what we’re looking at:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Atherton/3421-El-Camino-Real-94027/unit-20/home/2035365
What neighborhoods are snobby enough for you?
That’s how I can interpret what you’re saying
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Yoda I can’t keep up with your backward thinking.
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