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
Primary horizontal support for a structure such as a house. It may be a large piece of wood, stone, iron, or other material that lies across the walls, and serves as support of the ...
Ownership of property transfers from the seller to the buyer when the parties sign the contract. ...
City apartment building that is overcrowded, poorly constructed or maintained, and generally part of a slum. In law, a tenement also refers to possessions of an individual that are ...
Individual with legal privileges and obligations. The legal term is sometimes used for a corporation. ...
What is Novation? What is the definition of novation? Jointly agreeing to provide an equivalent legal obligation or debt for a previous one. Persons to the contract can also be ...
Owned by one individual or sole ownership. ...
Managing property directly at its location. The management functions may include showing prospective tenants the facilities, collecting rents, and doing upkeep on the property. ...
Interest rate on a loan that varies periodically based on some related measure. If interest rates are currently high and a prospective buyer of a home believes future interest rates will be ...
The external covering finish of a structure which protects it from the elements. Exterior finish materials, including shingles, siding, and paints, are design to resist severe weathering ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.