Many people are confused about the relationship and differences between an apartment and a condo. Essentially, the two are identical until it comes to the law. Because there is no specific way to tell the difference between an apartment building and a condominium many get confused as to the terminology. This is totally understandable, but in legal terms the two are worlds apart on the scale. For starters, an apartment building does not have individual tenure. This means—in layman’s terms—that an apartment building is owned in its entirety by one sole owner, or a consortium. The residents of the said apartment building may only rent the apartments have no rights to single unit purchase.
However, in contrast, condominium does have tenure and a single purchaser can but an apartment with the condominium complex. Condominiums are generally constructed with the option of selling each individual unit to a sole owner or family, each having responsibility of the upkeep and taxes on that condo, but not the entire building. However, they can be deemed responsible for the general upkeep of the whole building if certain repairs are needed. For instance, if you own a SoHo NYC condo and your condo is on the top floor, you might have to pay for roof repairs along with the other residents on that floor.
Types of Condos
There are many different kinds of condos in the United States. Many consist of high-rise condos, but there are also, townhouses, garden condominiums and low-rise condos. Garden condos are usually low-rise—one level—buildings with beautifully landscaped gardens. Each unit is a separate home owned by its occupant. Others are semi-detached homes with two or three floors. However, only the interior is owned by the buyer, while the exterior is owned by all the occupants and therefore each occupant is equally liable for any repairs to the entirety of the complex.
Because of the complexity of buying a condominium it is always strongly advised that buyers read every word of the contract of sale before they commit to buying their own condo. There could be a huge bill attached to repairs that will eventually be needed, as well as replacements of communal carpets, elevator repairs and other communal properties. Make sure you know what you are getting into before you go ahead and sign.
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