FEE SIMPLE OWNERSHIP: The individual owner of a unit or ths owns their unit, the land it sits on, maintains the exterior of their unit and the grounds belonging to their unit at the owners expense.  Adjacent unit owners share the responsibility their party walls.  Sometimes a small fee may be charged to maintain the common areas of the complex.  Fee simple ownership is usually limited to town homes.

CONDOMINIUM OWNERSHIP:  The individual owner of a unit or ths owns only the space inside the 4 exterior walls.  Then every owner in the complex owns a share of the land that all the units sit on as well as as share of the complex common ground areas.  All unit owners pay a maintenance fee that often includes exterior ground maintenance and a reserve fund to pay for maintenance all the buildings in the complex, usually also includes water, sewer, liability insurance, grounds maintenance, and sometimes cable usage. Condomium ownership can be town homes, garden units (3-5 stories high), or high rise units.

• Condominiums increase your buying power. Compare the price of a two-bedroom condo to a two-bedroom detached single-family dwelling in the same neighborhood. On the basis of livable square footage, condos generally sell for at least 20 to 30 percent less than comparable detached homes. Owning your very own roof, foundation, and plot of land is much more expensive than sharing these costs with other owners. For some would-be buyers, the choice is either buying a condo that meets their living-space needs or continuing to rent.  

• Condominium town homes and garden units attached residences allow you the luxury of not worrying about the outside maintenance of a home.

•  Condominium town homes and garden units generally cost less to maintain than detached homes. Although replacing the high rise's roof, for example, costs more in absolute terms than replacing the roof of a detached single-family home, the cost per owner should be less.  
  

• Attached residences have amenities that you couldn't otherwise afford.  Most homeowners can't afford expensive swimming pools or tennis courts, nor the would they want to maintain them.

• Condominium living usually has community events that allow you to meet the neighbors more readily.

• Attached residences are ideal homes for some empty nesters. Perhaps a building with no maintenance hassles or a doorman who'll forward your mail while you're off on one of your frequent vacations might be right for you.  

• We recommend that you review the past several years' operating budgets and financial statements for indicators of poor fiscal management.  Reviewing Condo Budgets.

• Like detached homes, condos are not for everyone. Judge for yourself how much the following drawbacks may affect you:  

• Condominiums offer less privacy. Shared walls mean you can hear others more easily. Noise pollution is one of the biggest problems with condos and the one area that prospective condo buyers frequently overlook. Visit the unit at different times of the day and different days of the week to listen for noise.  
  

• As a rule, the fewer common walls you share with neighbors, the more privacy you have in your unit. That's one reason corner units sell for a premium. And if your unit is on the top floor, you won't have people walking on your ceiling.  
  

• Condominiums are legally complex. Prior to buying your condo, you should receive copies of three extremely important documents -- a Master Deed or Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs); the homeowners-association bylaws; and the homeowners-association budget. Read these documents from cover to cover.  

• Condominiums are financially complex. As a prospective owner, check the current operating budget. Be sure that it realistically covers building maintenance costs, staff salaries, utilities, garbage collection, insurance premiums, and other normal operating expenses. How much is adequate? Three to five percent of the condominium's gross operating budget is generally considered a minimally acceptable reserve.  
  

• Where condominium parking and storage are concerned, the obvious isn't. For example, does your condo deed include a deeded garage or parking space that only you can use, or is parking on a "first come, first served" basis? Are there extra charges for parking, or is parking included in the monthly dues? Are there provisions for guest parking? Do you have a deeded storage area located outside of your unit? If you need even more storage, is any available and how much does it cost? Get answers to these questions before rather than after you buy.  

• Some older buildings that have been converted into condominiums have outdated heating and cooling systems and may lack elevators. Find out whether utilities are individually metered or lumped into the monthly homeowners association dues. Does your unit have a thermostat to control its heating and air conditioning, or is it centrally controlled?  
  

• f utilities are included in the monthly dues, other condo owners have no incentive to economize by moderating their use of heat or air conditioning. If you're frugal, you'll just end up subsidizing owners who aren't. By the same token, in a building with central heating and cooling, your climate choices may be limited.  

• Don't buy into a small condominium complex unless you enjoy intimate relations with your neighbors. In a small condo, you actively participate in the homeowners association because you must. Every vote has an immediate impact on your finances and the quality of your life.  
  

• Another red flag is special assessments that wouldn't have been necessary if the association had an adequate reserve fund. When discussing the budget and reserve fund, find out whether any dues increases or special assessments are anticipated in the near future to make up operating deficits or cover the cost of a major project.  

• A third danger sign you may spot when reading the financial statement is too many homeowners who are delinquent in paying their dues. Operating expenses continue unabated regardless of whether or not all the owners pay their dues.  
  

• Some condominiums are overly restrictive. People who live in close proximity to one another need a smattering of rules to maintain order and keep life blissful. Too many rules, however, can be a burden. Before you buy, read the CC&Rs and bylaws carefully to find out exactly what kind of usage restrictions they contain.  
  

• If you discover that the condominium has restrictions you don't like, don't buy the unit. Trying to modify CC&Rs or bylaws to eliminate restrictions after you've bought a unit is usually an expensive exercise in frustration and futility

• Prudent rental restrictions are good. If some owners occasionally let friends use their units or rent the units for a week or two while they're on vacation, no big deal. However, if most of the units are owned by absentee investors who rent them to an endless parade strangers, that's can be a problem. You may also have trouble getting a mortgage in a complex with too many renters.  
  

• The Master Deed or Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) establish the condominium by creating a homeowners association, stipulating how the condominiums' maintenance and repairs will be handled, and regulating what can and can't be done to individual units and the condominiums' common areas.  

• Bylaws keep the condominium functioning smoothly. They describe in minute detail the homeowners association's powers, duties, and operation. The bylaws also cover such nitty-gritty items as how the homeowners association officers are elected and grant the association the right to levy assessments on individual condo owners.  
  

• Last, but far from least, the developer creates a budget. The condominium's budget can't (theoretically, at least) operate in the red. The current budget establishes how much the condominium expects to spend this year to operate and maintain itself. Condo owners also receive an annual statement of income and expenses showing precisely how last year's dues were spent and spelling out the condominium's current financial condition.  

• The CC&Rs, bylaws, and budget are legally binding on all condo owners. Even though they're bulky, bloated, and boring, you must read them very, very, very carefully. If you have questions about what these documents mean, or if you don't understand how they affect you, consult a real estate lawyer. And as long as we're talking about legal stuff, find out from your agent or the homeowners association whether the condominium is either currently involved in litigation or plans to be in the foreseeable future

• Brand-new condominium developments have the same advantages and disadvantages as new detached homes, compounded by a condo's added legal and economic complexity. Like new detached homes, new condo projects are as good or bad as the developers who build them and the lawyers who create them. Because any new project, by definition, doesn't have a track record yet, you must visit earlier projects done by the same developer to see how well they've aged and how satisfied the condo owners are.  

• Some unscrupulous developers of new condominium projects purposely lowball monthly operating costs to deceive prospective purchasers into thinking that living there will cost less than it really does. These developers pay a portion of the monthly expenses out of their own pockets to keep project costs artificially low. When projected operating costs look too good to be true, they probably are. Compare the new project's projected operating expenses with the actual operating expenses of a comparable established project.  

• When you buy a condo, you must inspect the entire building -- not just your unit. You need a professional property inspector on your real estate team because the structural and mechanical condition of a property greatly affects its value. What's the condition of expensive common area components such as the roof, heating and cooling systems, plumbing and electrical systems, elevators, foundation, and the like? Are amenities such as tennis courts, swimming pool, and health facilities in good shape? Because you're buying part of all the common areas in addition to your individual unit, you need a professional opinion of the entire complex's condition.  

• Check the building's soundproofing by asking other owners whether they're bothered by noises emanating from units above, below, or beside their unit. The building has a ventilation problem if you can smell other people's cooking odors in your unit or the hallways. If you discover that expensive repairs or replacements are needed and the condominium's reserve fund doesn't have anywhere near enough money to cover the anticipated costs, don't buy a unit in this complex. Sooner or later, the owners will be hit with a special assessment and/or a big dues increase