Saturday, April 28, 2007

Condo or Townhouse.. What's the Difference

A lot of people are confused by the terms condo and townhome or townhouse. Technically all townhomes/townhouses are considered to be condos but not all condos are townhomes/townhouses.
Now that you are thoroughly confused let me try to explain. The State of California classifies all multiple dwelling units which share a common land site but can be sold separately as condominium subdivisions. Local building departments in Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo and El Segundo issue building regulations that conform with city standards and the California State Building code. The general development is considered a condominium. It is the style of the condominium that brings a confusion in terms.
We usually call a development that does not have individual garage parking with a private entrance and can have units above, below and on each side a stacked unit condominium. Most of the units along the Esplanade in South Redondo are this style. Units that are more then one level with an attached garage that has a private entry directly into the unit and has no more then one unit on each side with no other units above or below is referred to as a townhome/townhouse style condominium. These are the main style found in most of the South Bay Beach Cities.

This is a condo style condominium development.
This is a fairly typical townhome/townhouse style unit that is found in most of the South Bay cities

5 comments:

Robert Kissig said...

Excellent! I've always simply figured that those with outside entrances were townhouses, and those configured like a NY apt with all your neighbor's breakfast, lunch & dinner smells shared by all, is a condo. But wadda'I know? Nice of you to address the issue so people know what they're getting. I can tell you one thing for sure...living in the So. Bay beats the hell out of NY. - B

Kaye said...

Bob- The condo vs townhouse question is one that most people are not sure about.. and for sure.. the South Bay beats most places as a wonderful place to live..
K

Mike Perry said...

Being from England I've often wondered what a condo actually was - and now I know! Got here from MyBlogLog.
Mike.

Kaye said...

Mike- It is confusing.. glad you found me .. I love MyBlogLOg

Jasmine V said...

Perfect explanation. Both of these options are suitable for almost everyone nowadays. We see families living in condos today.

Jasmine V | Belgravia Group