In a row-house project, the homes look alike on paper. They aren’t alike to live in. Where your house sits in the row, which way it faces and what’s behind your back fence matter more than a few sq ft. This guide on how to choose a row house walks through the checks that separate a good unit from an awkward one, in the order you should make them.
Key takeaways
- Decide end unit vs middle unit first. It sets your light, privacy and noise more than anything else
- Check the sun on the garden and terrace, not just the entrance facing
- Find the STP, generator, transformer and gas bank on the master plan, and keep your distance
- A “lift provision” is a shaft, not a lift. Price the lift before you count on it
- Pick the phase and possession date before you pick the house
Looking at a specific project? Our Sobha Oakshire page covers 80 row houses off Bellary Road in Devanahalli, which we use as a worked example below.
In this guide
Not sure a row house is right for you at all? Start with our row house vs villa guide, then come back here to pick the unit.
End Unit vs Middle Unit
The first step in how to choose a row house is position, because everything else follows from it.
| Check | End unit | Middle unit |
|---|---|---|
| Shared side walls | One | Two |
| Side windows | Possible on the open side | Usually none |
| Noise from neighbours | From one side | From both sides |
| Privacy | Open side may face a road or path | Hemmed in, but shielded |
| Price | Often quoted higher; ask | Often the base price; ask |
The end unit vs middle unit row house question isn’t one-sided. An end unit gets more light and one less neighbour. But its open side might face an internal road, a visitors’ car park or a utility yard, and that’s worse than a quiet wall.
A middle unit is darker at the sides and you’ll hear more through the walls. It’s also more sheltered, and if the builder charges extra for ends, it’s cheaper.
So before you settle the end unit vs middle unit row house choice, ask what’s on the open side of each end unit, and how much the end-unit premium is.
Facing and Sun
Facing is the second step in how to choose a row house. Most row-house projects give you a choice of entrance facing. Sobha Oakshire, for example, offers only east or west entrances, which Sobha describes as Vastu-compliant.
The entrance is only half of it. In a row house the back of the home faces the opposite way. An east entrance means your backyard and rear rooms face west, and take the afternoon sun. A west entrance flips that.
Think about where you’ll actually sit, and pick the side that suits it. Our east vs west facing guide goes deeper.
Check the terrace too. A terrace with solar panels, a water tank and AC units on it has less open space than the plan suggests, whichever way it faces.
What’s Behind and Across
A row house has neighbours on three sides: left, right and behind. Anyone working out how to choose a row house tends to forget the one behind, yet you’ll look at it every day.
Find out the gap between your back fence and the next row. At Oakshire, the brochure says backyards face each other across 8 to 13 m, with a 4 ft fence. That range matters. At 13 m you have space. At 8 m, your neighbour’s back windows are much closer, so ask which gap your unit gets.
A 4 ft fence keeps pets in. It doesn’t stop anyone seeing into your garden. Plan for hedges or a screen if privacy matters.
Then look across the front. What faces your door: another row, a park, or a driveway junction where cars turn? A park view is worth a lot. A junction means headlights in the front room.
Distance from Services
Every gated project needs plant: a sewage treatment plant, an organic waste converter, a generator, a transformer and often a gas bank. Someone lives next to them. Knowing how to choose a row house means knowing whether it’s you.
Oakshire’s master plan, for instance, marks an STP/OWC area, a gas bank and a transformer and DG yard. Find these on the plan of any project you’re looking at, then find your unit.
- STP and waste converter: smell on still days, and service trucks
- Generator yard: noise and fumes when the power fails
- Transformer: a humming box and a fenced-off area
- Gas bank: a safety zone and tanker deliveries
The gate and visitors’ car park are a softer version: handy for guests, but more traffic past your door.
Garden, Terrace and Lift
Driveway and parking
Check the width of the driveway in front of your unit and how you’ll turn into your car park. At Oakshire most driveways are 5.5 m wide and one is 6.5 m. A wider road makes reversing two cars in and out easier, so it’s worth asking which one you’re on.
Garden you can use
Measure the garden against how you’ll use it. A strip along the front is a buffer, not a lawn. A backyard you can put a table and chairs in is a room. Ask which rooms open onto it and whether it gets the sun at the hours you’ll be home.
Terrace and walls
Row-house terraces sit side by side, so the wall between them decides your privacy up there. Oakshire’s plans show a 7 ft partition wall between terraces. Ask for the height in any project, and whether you can add a pergola or shade.
Lift provision vs lift
Many row houses show a “provision for lift”. That’s a shaft or space. The lift, its installation and its yearly maintenance may be extra. Price it before you decide you don’t mind three floors of stairs. Our page on home lifts covers the types.
Phase and Possession
Here’s a part of how to choose a row house that buyers skip. Larger row-house projects are often built in phases, each with its own RERA number and date. Oakshire has three, due December 2026, June 2027 and December 2027.
That means two houses that look identical can be a year apart in possession. If you’re paying rent and EMI together, the earlier phase is worth more to you. Our guide to the cost of a long possession date shows how to put a number on that.
Check each phase’s quarterly progress on the Karnataka RERA portal before you choose between them.
Rules and Resale
A row house feels like your own house, but it sits under an association’s rules. Ask for the draft rules before booking. In particular, ask whether you can:
- Cover part of the terrace or add a room on it
- Extend into the front or back garden
- Change the outside colour, windows or gate
- Install your own solar or water tank
Uniform rules protect the look of the project, which helps resale. They also stop you doing things you might assume are allowed.
Resale is the last test of how to choose a row house well. The same factors that matter to you matter to the next buyer. An end unit on a quiet side, away from the plant, facing a park, will be easier to sell than a middle unit beside the generator yard. If you’re torn between two units, pick the one you’d find easier to explain to a buyer.
A Scoring Sheet
Here’s how to choose a row house when you’ve got a shortlist. Score each unit 0, 1 or 2 on every line, then compare totals. The weights are yours to set.
| Check | 2 points | 0 points |
|---|---|---|
| Position in row | End unit, quiet open side | End unit facing a road or plant |
| Garden sun | Sun when you’ll use it | Shade all day or sun all afternoon, against your plans |
| Back gap | Widest gap in the project | Narrowest gap |
| Front view | Park or open space | Junction or car park |
| Services | Far from STP, DG, transformer, gas bank | Next to any of them |
| Driveway | Wider road, easy turn-in | Narrow, tight turn |
| Phase | Earliest possession | Latest possession |
| Price premium | None, or worth it | High premium for little gain |
The best way to learn how to choose a row house is on site, not from the brochure. Score it on a visit. Walk to the unit from the gate, stand in the backyard and go up to the terrace.
FAQs
Is an end unit or a middle unit row house better?
An end unit usually gets more light and privacy, with one shared wall instead of two. But check what its open side faces. An end unit beside a road or utility yard can be worse than a middle unit.
Do end-unit row houses cost more?
Often, but not always. Ask the builder whether there’s an end-unit premium and how much it is before you compare units.
Which facing is best for a row house?
It depends how you use the house. The back faces the opposite way to the entrance, so decide whether you want morning or afternoon sun in the garden and rear rooms.
How to choose a row house in a gated project?
Decide end or middle unit, check the sun on the garden, then avoid units next to the sewage plant, generator, transformer or gas bank, and units facing a busy driveway junction. Find these on the master plan first.
Is a lift included in a row house with lift provision?
Not necessarily. Provision usually means space or a shaft for a lift. Ask whether the lift is included, and what installation and maintenance cost.
Can I extend my row house later?
That depends on the association rules and approvals. Ask for the draft rules before booking, especially about terraces and gardens.
Sources we checked (28 October 2026): Sobha’s Oakshire brochure, floor plans and master plan, used as a worked example. The rest of this guide is general buying advice, not a statement of any project’s terms.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Check every unit’s details with the builder in writing.
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