Real estate: Townhomes offer spacious floor plans plus low maintenance, amenities

Bill Lewis, Special to Nashville Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK — TENNESSEE 

Click HERE for full article

Wes Hinton was ready to downsize from his 3,300-square-foot house and large yard in Franklin but needed room for guests and for his furniture. A new townhome in Hendersonville’s Durham Farms neighborhood was the solution. 

“The openness (of the floor plan) was a huge deciding factor for me,” he said.

Hinton bought his new townhome last December while it was being built by Goodall Homes. He moved in in mid-February.

Goodall plans to build 60 townhomes in Durham Farms. The company also offers townhomes in Millstone. Both neighborhoods are in Hendersonville.

Affordable price point, plus amenities

The company now has two model townhomes open in Durham Farms, one for each of the floor plans it offers there. The subdivision is located on Drakes Creek Road.

The Monterey floor plan has 1,971 to 1,976 square feet. The Newport floor plan has 1,674 to 1,714 square feet. The Monterey is priced from $279,000. The Newport is priced from $259,000.

“They are the price point people are looking for in Hendersonville,” said Joel Smith, Goodall’s sales agent in Durham Farms. “Plus, they are maintenance-free on the exterior. You get to focus on the amenities” of Durham Farms.

The Monterey has three or four bedrooms, including an upstairs master bedroom, two-and-a-half baths and a kitchen with an eat-on bar overlooking the living room. Features include a breakfast room, a downstairs study and an upstairs bonus room and a loft. It has a one-car rear-entry garage.

The Monterey has a study on the first floor, but buyers can choose a bedroom with a full bath and a closet and a drop zone instead.

“Most folks want the study or the option to have it one big open space for entertaining,” said Smith.

Roomy floor plans, low maintenance

The Newport is similar but slightly smaller. It has three bedrooms including an upstairs master suite, two-and-a-half baths, a kitchen with an eat-on bar open to the living room and a breakfast room. It features a loft and upstairs bonus room and a one-car rear-entry garage.

Hinton purchased a Newport floor plan. It has an oversized master bedroom and plenty of room for a large sectional sofa he purchased while living in his house. His townhome came with features including hardwood flooring and under-cabinet lighting.

“Things I knew I needed were included,” he said.

Townhomes are growing in popularity, said Karlie Kee, broker-owner of Coldwell Banker Lakeside Realtors. She owns a townhome in another subdivision and doesn’t miss the chore of doing yard work on weekends.

“All that is taken care of. It allows me to focus on life, not on maintenance,” said Kee.

Goodall’s townhomes are a welcome addition to Sumner County’s housing inventory. So are villas being built in Durham Farms by David Weekely Homes, she said.

Weekley’s one-level villas are priced from the high $200,000 and range from 1,734 to 1,923 square feet. They feature three to five bedrooms and are built in pairs with garages between them.  

Goodall offers villas in Millstone and courtyard cottages in the Retreat at Fairvue and Carellton neighborhoods.

Kee enjoys the lock-and-leave lifestyle that comes with a townhome.

“When I’m out of town, I love knowing people are looking out for you,” she said.