"Detached Townhome" vs. "Single Family House"

MLS Style Category Definitions

1. (SF) One Story (ONEST)
One story single-family house
2. (SF) One 1/2 Stories (ONEHF)
One 1/2 story single-family house. Second floor only has adequate ceiling height in a portion of it.
3. (SF) Two Stories (TWOST)
Two story single-family house. Has adequate ceiling height throughout upper story.
4. (SF) More Than Two Stories (MRTTS)
Single-Family house with more than two stories.
5. (SF) Modified Two Story
(MODTS)
Two story single-family house where the second story has full ceiling height throughout but has less square feet of finished space than the first level, leaving a portion of the structure without the second story. However, there is a full set of stair risers to the second story. (Does not include multi-level homes with a half set ofrisers but not a shorter fullset.).
6. (SF) Three Level Split (THRLS)
Three level split home
7. (SF) Four or More Level Split (FOURM). Built like a three level split, except it has a basement level and/or additional levels.

The Multiple Listing Service lists 19 different kinds of housing styles (the first seven are above).

Which one's the most confusing?

Personally, my candidate is "Townhome Detached."

I ran into the issue when a townhome I'd been tracking for a client cancelled and re-listed, but was no nowhere to be found on the townhome search I'd set up and saved for the clients.

The explanation?

The listing agent switched the property's category from "Townhome Detached" to "Single Family (Two Stories)."

The distinction?

The former has a homeowner association that takes care of building exterior maintenance, snow removal, sanitation, etc.

Apparently, at least one other agent is fuzzy on the distinction, too (she was right the first time, when the property was listed as a "detached townhome").

Property Tax Millstone

"If you have to ask about the taxes . . ."

Where: Park Lane in Minneapolis

What/Where: 4 BR/BA Rambler with over 4,000 square feet just southeast of Minneapolis' Cedar Lake

How much: $799k list price

Who (listed by): Agent/Broker -- Robert Landis

What jumps out at me skimming the stats on this new listing (actually, a cancel-and-relist) isn't the great location, the gorgeous .32 acre lot, or the surprising number of square feet (4,000, but it sure doesn't look it).

Rather, it's the $19,578(!) annual property tax bill that comes with!

That's based on an estimated property tax value of almost $1.2 million, which is sure to go down.

But not until 2011, because of the lag in how property taxes are determined.

In the meantime, the ultimate Buyer is going to have to have some pretty good cash flow.

Call it the housing market version of J.P. Morgan's famous line: 'if you have to ask how much the property taxes are . . . you can't afford them."

P.S.: All levity aside, these kinds of ball-and-chain tax bills are going to present increasingly steep obstacles selling upper bracket homes -- especially in high-tax cities like Minneapolis.

PPS: A cancel-and-relist is when the owner cancels the listing and the Realtor brings it back on new. That's standard procedure after a home's been on awhile -- in this case, since August. It's also standard practice to package that with a major price reduction, also true in this case: the owner dropped the price $100k.

The giveaway that this home has been on the market since Summer? The (very) green grass.