Bay Area Homebuyers Must Know: A 1-Minute Guide to U.S. Housing Types
- Marketing Alpha
- May 2
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 28
“What types of rooms are available in the United States?”
“Are condos different from apartments?”
“Why can’t I see the difference between a condo and a townhouse?”
Why do the houses in the same neighborhood look the same?
Some say Townhouse, and some say Condo? "
We often receive questions from friends about house types. The various house types in the United States involve style and ownership, which confuses novice homebuyers. This time, Axis Investment will sort out the house types in the United States and help you understand them!
01 What are we discussing when discussing “housing type”?
Customers often tell me, "I want to buy a townhouse! I don't want an apartment!" Then after looking at the so-called townhouse, why did they tell me during the disclosure that it is actually a condo when it clearly says "Townhouse" on Redfin?
First of all, we need to make two concepts clear to everyone - the Style and Ownership of the house.
Style, as the name implies, is what it looks like. If there are no other neighbors upstairs or downstairs , and there is at least one wall connecting to the neighbors on the left and right , it is Townhome/Townhouse Style .
If there are other neighbors upstairs and downstairs and you only have one floor of living space , it is a condo/flat style .
If it is not connected to its neighbors above, below, left or right , it is a detached style, or Single Family Style .
If a building has only two households and both sides are end units , it is duet style .
Nowadays, some developers have built duplex villas. The interior of the house has a large sense of space, with stairs and garages. However, part of the area is still connected to the neighbors upstairs and downstairs, and there is at least one common wall next door. For the sake of good publicity, many builders or agents also call this type of house Townhome Style.
Style can be seen directly when viewing a house, which directly affects the living experience. Is there a usable yard? Which wall connects to the neighbors? Is the sound insulation good? Is the indoor space and lighting excellent? These questions can be answered directly when viewing a house with SALA.
If Style is a little more arbitrary, then Ownership is a more strict, accurate and fair definition . Property ownership is part of the background check, and SALA will explain it in detail when interpreting the disclosure.
In the preliminary report issued by the Title company, there will be a detailed definition of the property rights of the house, and it will be clear at a glance whether it is Condo property rights, PUD (townhouse) property rights, or Single Family House property rights.
02 A comprehensive review of US home ownership
There are mainly the following types of property rights in the United States:
• Apartment - rental apartment;
• Condo - self-owned apartment (only owns the interior of the unit, and shares the lot shares of the community with the community owners);
• Townhouse - townhouse (the lot under the house also belongs to the owner);
• Co-op – a shared ownership apartment;
• TIC (Tenany-in-common) – cooperative condominium;
• Single Family House – Single family house;
• Multi-Family House – Multi-family villa;
★ Apartment - Rental Apartment
Apartment is a rental apartment that we are familiar with in the traditional sense. Generally speaking, an entire building or an entire apartment community is a property , and the individual or company that owns the entire community will hire a property management company to manage the rental. There will be a rental office and an onsite manager in the community. Whether it is inside or outside the apartment, the community is managed by the property management company. Any damage or problems can be contacted for repair and maintenance.
★ Condo - Self-owned apartment
Condos are self-owned apartments. Each apartment is owned by an individual . The owner can renovate, rent, and sell his or her apartment. However, the repairs and maintenance of the apartment also need to be handled by the owner himself or herself. The community is managed by the homeowner and the community's homeowners association (HOA) , so property fees (HOA fees) need to be paid. Under condo ownership, the areas that the owner and HOA are responsible for maintaining are stipulated by the HOA's by law and CC&R.
Note: For some condos with yards, you will see the property type as condo in the property report, but there is also a detailed description of exclusive right of use lot xxx (your yard). Generally, the maintenance of this type of yard will be handed over to the owner with exclusive right of use. However, this is not absolute, because the rules and regulations of the HOA can be modified through a Board vote.
Does a condo come without land? No, no, no! A condo just doesn’t have a lot that can be directly divided out as its own, but it does not mean that it does not have the property rights of the land. In the property report, it can be clearly seen that a condo has undivided 1/n shares of lot xxx. Here n is the total number of units in the community, and lot is the total land area of the community.
Let me repeat, it is important to emphasize that a condo does not come without land. Friends who own a condo, please take a look at the property tax bill. The land value is clearly written in the property tax bill!
★ PUD / Townhouse
PUD stands for Planned Unit Development, which describes a housing development that is not subject to the original standard zoning requirements of the area. With the permission of the local government, the developer establishes new guidelines for buildings and public areas. These may include street lighting design, street width standards, architectural style, building height standards, land coverage, and public area parks or amenities requirements. Generally speaking, PUDs are denser, with smaller plots, and homeowners own the house and the land underneath it.In the San Francisco Bay Area, almost all PUD properties have community and property management (HOA), so owners also have to pay property fees (HOA Fee), and similar to Condos, they will be managed and constrained by the HOA. Similarly, the areas that owners and HOA are responsible for maintaining are regulated by the HOA's by law and CC&R.
★ Co-op – Shared ownership apartment
★ TIC (Tenany-in-common) – Cooperative property
These two types are not common in daily purchases, so I won’t describe them in detail here. If you have any questions, please contact SALA directly for specific answers. In short, they have more restrictions than condos, so when other conditions are similar, condos will be more expensive than these two types of apartments.
★ Single Family House - Single Family House
This is the most traditional and popular type of property rights. The homeowner has the property rights of the land and the house . In the absence of property management, there is no need to pay property fees. Everything is taken care of by the homeowner himself, and he can renovate his own house and front and back yards by himself. However, there are also many single-family houses with HOA, which are common in newer buildings or high-end communities. The HOA of new buildings is part of the community planning and development. The HOA fees are mainly used to maintain the common areas. If it is an attached SFH type (similar in appearance to a townhouse), the HOA usually also maintains the entire building (similar to the HOA of Th and condo). If it is a high-end community, the HOA is usually used to maintain the greening of the common areas of the community, as well as public facilities, such as access control, swimming pools, children's play areas, golf courses, etc.
★ Multi-Family House
It means that there are 2-4 units under one property right , which can accommodate two (duplex) to four (quadplex) families. Each family has a different entrance and house number, and each has a complete kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Multi-family property rights with more than 4 units are no longer in the scope of Residential, but in the scope of Commercial! So what is a complex with more than 4 units under the same property right? It is an Apartment!
03 The difference between condo and apartment
Rental apartments and condominiums are similar in appearance, with multiple households living in one building, but what are the differences between them?
The difference between a private apartment (Condo) and a rental apartment (Apartment) lies mainly in the property rights, not in the appearance or shape .
For example, in a condo, each household has its own property rights, and each unit has a different owner, while the entire apartment building generally has one owner, which can belong to a company or individual. Generally, the landlord rents it out and cannot sell individual units, but only the entire building .
Apartments and condos can actually be converted. Many old residential areas in the Bay Area were originally apartments when they were first built. After renting them out for a period of time, they were converted to condos and sold individually. This conversion is actually a way to make a profit from real estate investment.
04 The difference between condo and townhouse
After reading the above explanation about the difference between Style and Ownership, I believe you should have a clearer understanding of how to distinguish these two definitions, right?
The "Th" and "Condo" in the house information you see on Redfin/Zillow/other websites are actually information filled in by the seller's agent in the MLS, and are not guaranteed to be correct. Some agents will fill in Style, and some will fill in Ownership, so there is no direct comparison. Our suggestion is to look at the Style when viewing a house, and the Preliminary Report for Ownership. Don't worry about what is written on the website, after all, when you sell the house, this information will be filled in by your agent again.
So what impact do these two types of property rights have on the use and future appreciation of the house?
First, let's talk about the impact on usage: the difference in usage is not determined by property rights, but by HOA, style, and building quality. HOA regulations determine whether you can change the appearance of the house, change the direction of the windows, whether you can add a yard, whether you can change the structure and apartment type, how much the monthly fee is, what aspects you need to maintain yourself, what insurance plan to buy, etc. Style determines where your neighbors are from when you live there, and building quality determines whether the sound insulation is good.
As for the impact on future appreciation, appreciation is mainly determined by the use attributes of the house, the degree of transformation, and most importantly, the location . Factors that affect the use attributes include the house type, decoration, orientation, area, style, etc. The degree of transformation depends on the regulations of the HOA or City.
05 What role does the HOA play in our discussion?
Friends who have read this, have you felt the power of HOA? Not only condos and townhouses, but single-family houses may also have HOA. The judgment criteria can still be applied to the previous paragraph!
✦AXIS Tips
When there is an HOA and no external or structural changes can be made to the house, the property rights actually have little impact on the user experience. Its biggest impact should be when applying for a loan. Generally speaking, the loan interest rate for a Condo will be greater than or equal to the Th/SFH interest rate, and the review of the Condo's HOA situation will be more stringent. Some banks may require a higher down payment for Condo property rights at the same interest rate .
Once the transfer registration is completed, the transaction is complete! Congratulations to the buyer for buying the house he likes after careful selection! The buyer's agent will hand the key to the buyer. Remember to activate utility services such as water, electricity, and garbage in time!
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