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
Housing whose rental payments are reduced because of aid granted by the federal, state, or local governments, private enterprises, or individuals. For example, monthly rental payments for ...
Method used by appraisers and investors to evaluate a level of payment income stream for a fixed period of years predicated on a specific interest rate. ...
Document issued by a governmental agency permitting the recipient to do something. An example is a building permit to construct a structure. ...
Timeshare homes is the popular name given to the concept of fractional ownership in real estate, and, in fact, is a better term to explain its meaning.Why?Well, fractional ownership means ...
Bankruptcy declared by any insolvent person or business. In contrast to involuntary bankruptcy, which is applied for by the creditors. ...
The ability to pay is a self-explanatory term used in Real Estate to determine if the Home Buyer has the financial health to honor a deal. Mortgage Lenders can't afford to lend out money ...
That part of a roof which projects beyond the sides of the building. The eaves keep rain overflow of the sides of a building structure and seal the roof rafters. ...
Percentage of rentals estimated not to be made because of actual and anticipated vacancies. ...
In everyday discourse, the term specifications describe various properties and features. They can be attributed to products, services, objects, and industries, such as real estate. What do ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.