Typical condo formats

You may be familiar with the type of housing known as a condo or “condo,” but do you know what the term really means? It is a particular piece of real estate that is owned by an individual and is usually a converted apartment. These typically include common areas such as hallways or outdoor patios and toilets. In this article we will look at the different types of condominiums.

One particular type is called a freehold condominium. That means the land the condo complex is built on is actually owned by the developer. Because of this, potential buyers of the units can have the deeds transferred directly to them. Buildings for these types of condos can be row houses or low-rise condos or even high-rise condos. The different subcategories of freehold condominiums are: tiered condominiums, standard condominiums, common element condominiums, and vacant lot condominiums.

A standard condo is made up of buildings subdivided into individual units and also includes common features such as amenities and outdoor areas. With this type of condominium, the owners must contribute to the costs of repair and maintenance of these common features.

A phased condo is more or less a standard condo, but instead is developed in phases. This allows buyers to purchase individual units from the developer before the project is actually complete; even if the project takes years longer to complete. Individual units MUST have everything they need to be self-sufficient and complete in order to sell.

The next subheading we will talk about is the common elements of the condominium. In this variety there are no units; just common features that are connected to existing parcels of land. Owners of this type of condo are responsible for maintaining the common features of the complex. An example of this can be: when a group of owners wants to create a park; or perhaps a small beach if it is near the water, exclusively for your community. Then, this same group of owners must contribute to the maintenance costs of this service.

The last subcategory of condos is a vacant lot condo. It is a bare and undeveloped plot of land at the time of registration. Portions of this land can be sold as units and therefore built upon by the new owner. With this type, the combination of the house AND the lot is considered the condominium unit.

The other main category of condominiums is called “rental” condominiums. This was established in order to give more options on land use to institutions such as hospitals or universities. With this, the owner of the land leases the parcel of land corresponding to the declarant and establishes the condominium. In this case, the term of the lease CANNOT be less than 40 years OR more than 99. Also; the buyers do NOT actually own this land, but only have a LEASE on it. For this and a few other reasons, this type of condominium is very rare.