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Detached or Semi; Condo or Freehold

Explaining some of the terms in real estate

When it comes to real estate terms, many people prefer to live by the adage, “ignorance is bliss”. However, as you embark on a search for your next or first home, knowing what the most common terms in real estate mean is vital to a fluid journey from search to purchase. Let’s examine the basics:

Detached: refers to a stand-alone, one family house, not attached to another home or series of homes. At the moment, this is the most common type of real estate purchase in Niagara, but the future seems to be in multi-family buildings, so let’s enjoy our privacy while it lasts. In a detached home, you are the king of your castle. There is no-one to answer to, and you get privacy along with responsibility.

Semi-Detached: this is a single building, hosting two often equal residences. Most semis are of the side-by-side variety, but there are some front-back semis in Niagara as well. The single biggest advantage of purchasing a semi is “more home for the dollar”. You likely can find a larger semi for the same money you would spend on a smaller detached home. You also usually have a very manageable lot, meaning lower maintenance costs and lawn care efforts. The single biggest drawback of a semi is the fact that your “attached” neighbour will have a big impact on your home. I have seen many examples throughout the Niagara region of semi-detached homes where one owner is maintaining the property extremely well, while his neighbour is not. You share a building, a roof, and often a lawn or driveway. What happens when the roof is in need of repair, and only one of you is in the financial position to repair it, while the other is not? If you are able to get along well with people, and are not afraid of the challenges that may arise, semis provide good opportunities to many people. Remember too that the neighbour next door today may be moving tomorrow. Keep a positive attitude, but be aware of the speed bumps that may be on the road ahead.

Townhouse: a home in a series of attached homes, also known as “row housing” in some areas. Usually, a townhouse is in a complex or townhouse development where all the housing is of the townhouse variety. There are new developments throughout Niagara though where townhouses share a community with both detached and semi-detached homes. This has become common throughout the 1990’s to today, as cities and regions require developers to provide a variety of buildings and price points in order to fill demand for housing on a number of different levels. The number of townhouses in a development can be as few as 3, to as many as 60 or so. Townhouses are of two varieties – freehold or condo. We will deal with these terms next.

Freehold: implies a home where the homeowner is solely responsible for the property, including the building, lawns, gardens, garage, fences, driveways and sidewalks. The owner owns the property outright, with no additional fees to pay to anyone outside of the usual property taxes and utilities.

Condominium: means, in the most basic definition, that the home owner owns the interior of the house, with the exterior and the property itself owned by a condominium corporation, of which each home owner is automatically a member. It is not always easy to explain how exactly this works, and that is complicated by each condominium corporation having its own set of rules and regulations. Look at it this way… you take the exterior walls, and cut them in half. You own the inside half, and to a certain degree, can do what you want to the interior of the home. The condominium corp owns the exterior half, and for a monthly fee, looks after all the “common” areas, including lawns, gardens, sidewalks, parking, exterior lighting… and even the exterior décor. You, as the owner of a unit, have a voice and a vote when it comes to meetings of the condo corp’s board of directors. It provides you with a way to play a role in how your specific condo complex operates. An advantage of condos is that included in your monthly fees are maintenance of the grounds and that includes mowing the lawns and shovelling the snow! There are usually a few utilities included, which may reduce your additional costs in the big picture. There are lots of things to discuss with your Realtor® when considering a condo purchase. I would be happy to discuss them with you!

Randy Mulder

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