My wife and I are confused about the differences between a Condo and a Townhome (Townhouse).
They seem similar but I'm sure there are reasons why they are different.
Anything with taxes??

Thanks~~

 

A townhouse can be considered a condo. The term "Condo" just refers to the fact that the tenants consolidate money to pay for grounds and facilities, etc, and agree on a bunch of rules. So you can have a high rise condo, or a condo townhouse.

A townhouse thats not a condo is called a "freehold" townhouse.

 

Condominium - a form of collective ownership of real property. In a condominium, the individual property owners typically own the airspace within their own walls. The structures themselves, the land and the amenities built on the land, are owned in common with the other members of the association.


Townhouse - an architectural style; a dwelling characterized by two-story construction with a common wall or walls bordering neighboring dwellings. The common form of ownership is similar to a condominium project in that the property owner not only owns his or her respective unit, but also an undivided interest in any common area. Townhouse ownership sometimes differs from condominium ownership in that the townhouse owner owns the physical structure rather than just the airspace between the walls, floor and ceiling. However, in many areas "townhouse" now refers to the physical style of the structure rather than the form of ownership.

 

Yeah I was always told...

Condo: units above you/below you and to the sides
Townhouse: units to the sides only

 

You are in NYC so there is a ton of co-ops. Don't know much about them. A percentage of your co-op fee is tax deductable, varys by complex. Co-op you are buying shares of a corporation and that corporation usually has tons of debt.

Condo, your association fee generally provides no tax advantage. Condos can sometimes set up special tax districts within their municipality to get a lower tax rate to reflect services paid for by the association that would normally be performed by the town. This requires that the association fee be based upon the value of the unit, rather than the more equitable square footage allocation. This potential for municipal tax break may vary by state, so check in your market, and I do not know NY or CA. I don't buy anything without a lawyer.

In NYC, condos are much higher priced per square foot than similar co-ops. Has much to do with legal rights of ownership. Condo association has superior lien over your mortgage debt, so you should pay a higher interest rate than a fee property like a house. Sucks being ordered to do stuff by condo board and they got legal powers over you and can impose fines and foreclose. Co-op association board has even more power over you than condo.

 

A condo typically has a Homeowners Association for rules and dues. The rules and dues are for the exteriors and the common areas. Condos may be attached, detached, stacked or free standing. As mentioned, a townhouse is just a style of construction, attached on one or two sides, multi-story. Some townhouses are condos.

 

Ranch condos suck, because you have people above or below you. Buy a townhome style. Go vertical, young man!

 

Thanks for all the info.
I understand the HOA fees and stuff like that for Condos and Townhouses but in the Southern California area, there are houses that have HOA fees. It sucks.

Long story short, my wife and I went to look at a "house" community and went to all the models and later found out that it's a Condo. It was not attached and it was 2 stories. But it was a cost of a house. hahaha =)

House searching really sucks!!!

 

In CA, that was a Planned Unit Development (PUD), not a condo! You might have to pay a small premium for a PUD.
You own the house and land, there is also commonly owned greenspace, sometimes a security gate and/or guard, community pool, game courts or private streets. The generally small annual HOA is to take care of these extra features. HOA also does things like keeping your neighbors from parking on the grass and rebuilding cars in the driveway over aperiod of years. You really might want to consider an agent that you are comfortable with or a good book.

 

Yeah, that's the way I always understood it... townhouse has multiple floors... a condo is a glorified apartment complex.

Also, I have the perception (maybe inaccurately) that townhouses usually come w/ a garage while condo's do not...

Oh, and then there are "villas" down in FL... single level condos w/ garages...

 

If you're buying in NYC, you will be looking more at condo's and co-ops. Another thing about co-ops is that the tenant board have a big say in who buys a co-op. This is a bitch when you're ready to sell, and they don't approve a buyer. My friends are dealing with this right now.

Usually most condo's are single floor units and could have someone below and above you. A lot of them resemble apartments. You have a bunch of units on one floor with a common hallway. I got lucky, our condo is the second floor of a 2 floor building and it has a private entrance on the ground floor. It gives the illusion of privacy.

Townhouse usually mean that you don't have people below or above you, just to the side. When I was looking, they were also bigger and the taxes were a lot higher. But a lot more expensive. When I was looking about $50K more. In NY, it will probably be more.

If you can swing the extra cash, I would go with the town house. Some of the ones I looked at had basements and garages as well. If I could have afforded the extra $400 to $600 a month between the extra taxes, maintainance and mortgage, I would have loved to get one.