Real Estate-Ese: Detached vs. Attached Homes in Carlsbad California

Real Estate-Ese:

Detached vs. Attached Homes in Carlsbad California

 Real estate and MLS lingo can vary quite a bit around the country, and a relocation from one area to another means buyers confront terms they may never have heard before, or that may be perplexing.

Here in Carlsbad (and San Diego in general), our MLS uses the house-type terms “detached” and “attached” as major categories. And because they are used in our MLS I use these terms in my monthly market reports to share data reported in the MLS

Let’s dissect these terms just a bit

[what you see below are not legal definitions - I am not an attorney].

In general (we have to talk in generalities), detached homes are stand-alone houses that are single family, on a piece of land that is part of the deed and is fee simple, i.e., homeowners have ownership of the land as well as the structure, and pay property taxes on them based on assessed value.

While most detached homes are single family with fee simple ownership, there are some stand-alone (detached)structures that are condominiums.

Condos are a different form of legal ownership where there is shared ownership among condo residents of all the land, rather than exclusive ownership, but with each homeowner owning their particular unit space.

In some cases there may be outdoor space that is exclusive use to each particular owner.

Attached homes, as the name implies, are attached to each other in different ways (all are MLS categories): a twin home (2-side by side homes sharing some common wall; we called them duplexes back in New England), a town home (usually a series of units each with 2 or more stories, each sharing a wall; some people refer to single level homes that are attached as town homes), or simply attached (another MLS category).

An attached home can be in a building of 1, 2, 3 or more stories, with 1 or more units per floor. There are some twin home style properties that are actually single family homes, with exclusive property ownership, but the majority of the attached homes we see are actually condos.

While the manner in which these terms are used can be confusing, most importantly as a buyer you should verify the type of ownership in the property you are buying (fee simple vs. condominium) and not make assumptions based on style or appearance.

Mortgages and interest rates may vary depending on the type of legal ownership, as will HOA fees and what they actually cover.