renovation

my daughters looking at buying a townhouse and i was wondering why they call one place a townhouse but another place down the road might be called a condo complex?

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MrGreg

Townhouse is the style of building, usually 2 or 3 stories, sometimes with a garage on the bottom level. Units are in a row and share side walls, but not the front/back. Also, nobody lives above or below anybody else.

Condos usually mean you own from the drywall in of your unit, and a shared portion of the entire structure/property.

I own what the builder called a "townhouse style condo". 1 block over, there are condos that are not townhouses, they are more like apartments where each owner has part of a single floor, and they live above or below someone else.

I assume it is possible to have a townhouse that is not also a condo, but I'm not sure how the property line works there if they are physically connected.

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renovation

MrGreg thank's

Chgoman

The terminoligy can depend on where you live in the country. The above definition is applicable in some areas. Some areas the 2 terms are used interchangably. Most areas condo's tend to refer to single level units (may be a single level on the second story) whereas townhome is a multiple level unit.

mcs328

I live in a garden style condo. I'm on the top floor so I don't hear my neighbors footsteps. There are also two level condos where the building is 4 stories and the top 2 levels in one unit and the bottom 2 levels are another unit.

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VTGreg

MrGreg provided a pretty comprehensive definition but I think it basically boils down to:

1) A townhouse you share side walls (i.e. not freestanding) but don't typically have anyone above or below your unit. These can also be called row houses.

2) Condo's typically are surrounded by other units on up to 3 sides. Most condos include units above and below but I don't think there is any distinction that says a condo can't be a multi-level unit.

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mcs328

I guess the other major difference in HOA fees. Condo around here range from 140 - 500 bucks a month. For townhouses the HOA fee is maybe 15-100 month.

VTGreg

Makes sense because there are less common areas that HOA fees would need to cover for a townhouse.

zippyjuan

Which of course means the homeowner is responsible for more of the upkeep of a townhouse and its property than a condo owner- but those costs are probably lower than you would be paying in homeowner's fees. I am in a condo and my HOA dues are about $300 a month.

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gwilks98

Don't most townhouses have small yards in front and/or in back of them that belong to you?

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VTGreg

Many times yes.