{"id":14176,"date":"2020-02-10T11:56:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T19:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=14176"},"modified":"2020-11-18T22:41:57","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T06:41:57","slug":"buyer-what-is-a-condo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-condo\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking of Buying a Condo? Here\u2019s What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably heard people throw the term \u201ccondo\u201d around, but what exactly is a condo? If you aren\u2019t familiar with real estate terms, it can get confusing, especially in comparison to apartments. After all, they\u2019re both units in a building with shared walls, with the responsibility of common spaces falling to someone else.<\/p>\n

However, there are more nuances to condo ownership than meets the eye. Here\u2019s what you need to know about what condos are, and what they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Alberto Sanavio \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is a condo?<\/h2>\n

A condo (short for \u201ccondominium\u201d) is a privately-owned, individual unit in a multi-unit property. Structurally, it\u2019s similar to an apartment, but the difference is in the ownership.<\/p>\n

An apartment is a rental<\/a> unit in a multi-unit property; one landlord owns the building, and tenants pay that landlord rent. With condos, units are owned by individuals. In the case that an individual decides to rent out their condo, they wouldn\u2019t be the landlord for the entire building, just the individual unit.<\/p>\n

Condo HOAs<\/h2>\n

A condo is usually managed and controlled by an HOA, or homeowners\u2019 association<\/a>, which is responsible for collecting dues from condo owners and using that money for maintenance and amenities, among other things.<\/p>\n

What can condo HOAs control?<\/h3>\n

HOAs, in the case of condos, have a fair amount of control<\/a> over the complex or building.\u00a0 They can determine:<\/p>\n