Maintenance Provided Homes

Greater Kansas City Metro Real Estate

Maintenance Provided housing is rapidly increasing in popularity in the Greater Kansas City Metro area as median household income increases and homeowners begin to assess the value of their time spent maintaining their property versus doing other activities. In recent years, local home builders have sought to bring more maintenance provided communities to the Kansas City Metro and surrounding cities.

Types of Maintenance Service Provided

In our area, the term “Maintenance Provided” can have two different meanings:

• Maintenance Provided usually means certain upkeep is provided by the homeowner’s association at a monthly cost to the homeowner. The scope of the upkeep is limited and usually includes lawn mowing, snow removal, trash and recycling services, but not landscaping design or garden upkeep. A better term for a Maintenance Provided home in Johnson County may be “Low Maintenance.” Some of the best Maintenance Provided communities include Stonebridge Villas, Willowbrook, and Mission Ranch Villas.
  
  
• Maintenance Free usually means everything in the “Maintenance Provided” category and also includes exterior building maintenance, like preventative caulking and wood rot repair. The more expensive maintenance-free homes can also include roof replacement, security, property insurance, and gated entry as additional maintenance services. There are some excellent Maintenance Free communities at Crestwood Village, Boulder Creek, Covington Court, and Town & Country Villas.

Most people use the terms interchangeably and this article will also intermix the two terms for convenience. Just know that the different types of maintenance-provided homes offer different levels of maintenance service. It’s important to ask your Realtor which services are provided as you shop around so that you can accurately evaluate your next maintenance-provided home.

Do I Want a House or a Condo?

Additionally, there are two categories of maintenance provided home styles:

• Patio and Villa Homes can be single, free-standing houses or multiple houses attached to each other, similar to a duplex or triplex. Patio and Villa homes are classified as the same housing type in the Kansas City Metro Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is the Realtor’s home database that Realtors use to list homes for sale. Generally, homes marked as Patio or Villa-type homes will have the primary bedroom on the main floor and include some sort of maintenance service that is done on the property at regular intervals.
  
  
• Condos, or condominiums, are usually large property complexes that are very similar to apartment complexes and are comprised of individual units that people live in. The difference between condos and apartments is that condo owners take title to their unit and have ownership rights. People who live in condos pay monthly dues to a homeowner’s association that covers building maintenance and common area maintenance – the shared spaces that all condo owners have access to like hallways, driveways, and landscaping. It is vitally important to research your next condo building before you decide to buy since not all condos have a warrantable title. Make sure you call Michael Carter before you start looking for your next condo.

Homeowner’s Association dues can range from $100 per month to over $1,200 per month depending on amenities and maintenance services included. When you are ready to purchase a maintenance-provided home, Michael Carter can help you find just the right one.

 

Johnson County Maintenance Provided Homes