Condo question?

Question

I am unsure of what exactly a condo is. Is it like a single family home where you can do whatever the h**l you want (play music as loudly as you like, make whatever adjustments you want to it, reside in it permanently, etc)? And are you the owner/are free to sell it assuming you bought it? Do you pay mortgage payments or fees for residing there?

Thanks.

Answer 1

A condo can take many forms - it can be a high rise building, it can be a cluster of duplexes, it can be one two-family home.  Each owner usually owns "from the walls in" and the condo association (the group of owners), owns from "the walls out".  If there are say, 6 units in the development, each owner then owns 1/6th of the community property (common areas) from the walls out, including any property.  The cost of maintaining from the walls in, is paid for by each owner, while the costs of the community property is divided by 6.    EAch owner then pays "common charges" each month, to take care of the monthly fees and to maintain a larger fund to take care of larger repairs and expenses - insurance on the property, taxes on the property, repaving, roofs, etc.  If a large unexpected repair arises and there is not enough money in the fund, each owner will then have to come up with an "assessment fee", to take care of the unexpected item.  The association will make rules for the property.  They don't state what you can do on the inside of your unit, but will state the rules for outdoors - colors of the exterior, how many parking spaces, pets or no pets, how many occupants, if owners must physically live on the property or may rent out the unit, etc.  The rules are different for each association but cannot violate any state or federal laws.  Condos are good for people who are interested in home ownership but are not interested in taking on property care.  The downside is the rules can be restrictive and you are counting on each neighbor to pay the monthly common charges.  In a small development, if a few owners become unable to pay due to financial hardship, it can spell ruin for the other owners.