Condominium
Definition of "Condominium"
So, you’re out and about your homebuying dream and then you stumble upon this question: what is a condominium? Like, you think you know what is a condo home, but it's so hard to explain...
It's ok; it happens to the best of us.
It's not easy defining what is a condominium; condos are one weird body. Keeping up with its weirdness, we could say that condominium is a form of home ownership in which the owner exclusively owns the airspace within the walls but doesn’t own the actual walls, ceilings or floors of the home and anything beyond those.
But enough with the weird. Let’s make this easy and fun. What is a condo home? Let’s put it in a way that anyone can understand. The best way to describe what is a condominium is by defining it as a place within a place. And, while the interest is different from one to the other, you have ownership over both.
Example: an apartment within a condominium building, or a single-family house within a gated community. You accrue ownership of both, but the smaller unit – the apartment or the house - is 100% yours, while the rest – the common areas like gym, pool, lobby, laundry room, elevators…- are collectively owned by all other residents within the condominium and managed by associations such as a Homeowners Association.
Because the ownership is influenced by the neighbors – as you and they share common areas and, sometimes, services – it will vary from condo home to condo home if you can rent your condo to someone else, or if it’s a “owner’s only” type of property.
So, as you can see, it's hard to define what is a condo home. In the end, a condominium is not so much a place, but a form of ownership.
Popular Real Estate Terms
A building having one house hold on the first floor and a second household on the second floor. ...
Court order whereby the bankrupt debtor is forgiven of this or her debts. Even though the debtor is no longer obligated for discharged debts, the bankruptcy remains in his credit report ...
Accruals make up the basis of the accrual accounting method together with deferrals. The accrual method definition explains how the company’s accountant makes modifications for gained ...
tenancy having no written lease or contract. A periodic tenancy can be on a month-to-month or week-t-week basis. ...
Amount charged for each unit of rental property. An example of a unit might be square footage of space or an apartment. ...
Condition that affects the probability of losses or perils occurring. An example is possible earthquake or flood damage to a house. ...
Inflation adjusted income relative to be a base period. For example, real rental income is adjusted for changing price levels. ...
fee to use a bridge or tunnel. Fee assessed to use someone else's property. ...
Room in a building used to collect solar heat. To provide for such collection, a room is generally constructed with a glass roof and walls. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.