What are the differences between a townhome and a condominium?

Answer 1

The main differences between townhouses and condominiums are their structure, ownership, and whether they are governed by state statures. Townhomes, more commonly referred to as town houses, are rows of independent, identical houses that share walls and the owner, typically the resident, owns the land, yards/decks, and the home itself. A condominium is a small housing structure within a larger structure, similar to an apartment complex, where the owner owns only the condominium being rented/bought, and state statutes can regulate various aspects of the building itself.

Answer 2

Yes, typically the extent of the actual land owned in each is different.

Generally, a townhouse is one of a row of attached dwellings that share common side walls. Therefore, a townhouse is an individually owned building attached in a row with other individually owned buildings. Each townhouse owner owns the land beneath that unit. To confuse the issue of townhouses, some condominiums are called townhouse condominiums. In that case the term refers to the style of the condominium buildings.

A condominium unit owner owns a unit and a proportionate interest in all the land beneath the condominium community and the common areas based on the size of their unit. All the interests of all the unit owners would add up to 100%. That interest is expressed as, “Unit 201 including a .0987 percent interest in the common areas”.