This is a question I hear a lot in the market I serve. A large part of this area consists of "the Hills", a large development of single family homes, townhomes, duplexes and single floor units built primarily in the 1980's and 1990's. The Hills is actually divided up into many individual communities, each with its own homeowner's association, management company, fee structure, and by-laws. So naturally, first time buyers in the area often have a lot of questions. One of the most common is the difference between a townhouse and a condominium.
In reality, there may be no difference, and then again there may be a big difference. Let's start with a townhouse, which is simply a style of home. To be more specific, a townhouse is a home that is connected to other homes. If it is an interior unit, it can share walls with other units on both sides. If it is an exterior unit, it would normally share walls with a unit on one side. Typically, we think of a townhouse as having multiple floors and being part of a building with three or more units. This is not always the case, but it is true most of the time.
So then what is a condo? The term condo, short for condominium, actually does not describe a style of unit, but rather a form of ownership. When you buy a condo, you do not own the land beneath your unit. You own everything from the walls in, and you have shared rights in all the property that makes up the condominium development. This could include open spaces, elevators, pools, playgrounds and other areas as well. Condominium developments may include townhouses, but often owners of townhomes do actually own the land under their units. In that case, they are not condos.
The thing to remember is that a townhouse is a style of home, like a ranch or a colonial. A condominium is a form of ownership. A townhouse can also be a condo, or it may not. The key is to ask what exactly it is you are buying and to understand your ownership rights, and obligations, before you get to the closing table.
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