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
Rear lining of chimney. An acceptable chimney back lining can be achieved by plastering the interior surfaces of the chimney. A better alternative, however, is a manufactured lining of ...
Giving of a promise or guarantee to the receiver to instill confidence. ...
Loan mandating equal periodic payments to pay off the loan subsequent to the last payment. ...
Individual corporation, and so on permitted by law to own property and engage in business. Here, two or more companies operate under common control. Separate economic unit subject to ...
Room that is fit for living in. the building in which the room is located conforms with the building code and has a certificate of occupancy. Usable for all purposes, but does not include ...
Method of valuing a property through examination and comparison of recent sales of comparable properties. ...
Estimated price at which a partner in a partnership can buy out another partner. There are several methods for developing a buy-out estimate including market comparisons, appraisals, or ...
(1) Paved roadway constructed above lowlands such as a swamp. (2) Roadway in ancient Egypt connecting the valley temple with a pyramid. ...
Under law, a warranty in effect even if not expressly stated. It provides that real property sold is warranted to be appropriate for sale and is in proper condition even if not stated, ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.