Recently I
have been getting requests to inspect a town home/condo. My question to the potential client was what
is it? Is it a town home or a condo? To my surprise most didn’t know the
difference. So let’s understand what
each is.
What is a condominium?
A
condominium, or condo, is a building or community of buildings in which units
are owned by individuals, rather than a landlord. Condo owners only own the interior of their
unit. All other areas, including the building exterior, lawn and communal areas
are property of the Homeowners Association (HOA).
What is a town home?
A town home
is defined as conjoined units that are owned by individual tenants. They are
architecturally similar to row houses in that owners usually share at least one
or more walls. In most town home
communities, owners own their unit’s interior and exterior, including the roof,
lawn and driveway, but not the communal areas.
The problem
at hand is there are condo’s on the market that look like town homes and the
buyers are not being instructed as to the difference. So to summarize the difference and make this
as simple as possible to understand. No
matter what it looks like, a condominium is walls in only, which is all that is
being purchased. Also when you call a
home inspector for an inspection be sure what you ask for, you may be paying for more than you
need. Know what you’re buying.
