Property Types and definitions are an area of confusion to many as one property may look identical to another but they could be named or sold as two different things. We have generalized to a point in order to simplify the terminology and enable our search results to be far more accurate.
While the terms used to describe the home styles and club memberships in Florida reflect the variety of choices available, the designations may be unfamiliar and confusing to buyers from other parts of the country, or from other parts of the world. The high demand for homes and the spread of planned, gated communities has generated a number of different designs and arrangements that may not even be available in other areas.
Apartments – Normally are a block of apartments owned on one title and rented out on long term contract leases. The block will have one title deed as against each unit having a title deed.
Condos
A condo is often of higher quality than an apartment and comes with its own title deed. A town home and even a free-standing house can be classified as a condo depending on how the community condo association and HOA are set up.
Condominium is a legal description of ownership and not an architectural description. As a condo owner you own the actual structure of the building in conjunction with other owners of the association. Common areas such as swimming pools, tennis courts or other common areas are equally owned. Typically owners of larger floor plans will pay a higher HOA fee than those of smaller units.
Legally, YOU only own the airspace and interior of the structure, but not the building itself. You and other members of the association own the structure together.
When you purchase homeowners´ insurance for your condo, you are purchasing insurance only for the interior space (from the studs out) and for your contents. The Homeowners´ Association will purchase insurance for the exterior of the building.
Condominiums fall into a number of categories:
Garden Condominium
Garden condominiums are popular in Florida and feature 2 to 3 story ‘walk up’ buildings. The building design is simple, with access to the units from a catwalk on each floor. Parking is typically detached from the buildings and can be either open carports or detached garages.
Low Rise Condominiums
Low rise condo buildings offer one to three floors, with each floor containing multiple single story units. Coach and Carriage homes fall within this category.
Mid-Rise Condominium
Mid-rise condominiums are defined as a building with between 4 and 7 floors. Normally there will be between 4 to 12 units per floor serviced by central community elevators. Parking is detached from the buildings and can be either open carports or detached garages. This type of condominium is often found in master planned and golfing communities.
High-Rise Condominium
High-rise condominiums are any building with eight or more floors, and 4 to 8 units per floor. The unit access is from a floor lobby and an interior elevator leading to enclosed catwalks on each floor. In luxury high rises, elevators from the main floor will open to an individual lobby for each unit. Prices typically increase along with the floor number as higher elevated units will tend to have better views and less noise from the street. High-rise condominium buildings are normally designed to take advantage of great views. Many high-rise condo’s are found overlooking the beaches, bays and golf courses across Florida and prices can range from a few hundred thousand dollars to several million.
Co-Op
A co-op property is one where you purchase shares of a corporation as against a title deed to the property. These shares give the ‘owner’ the right to occupy a specific property. All running costs for the community are shared by the owners.
Single Family Homes (SFH)
Normally a free standing property with a yard (garden) at the front and rear. Lots of single family homes tend to be larger than those of villas and developers will typically offer half a dozen or so floor plans from which to choose within the community.
Villas
A villa is a classification of a single family home which is not clearly defined in Florida but should be thought of as a free standing/detached home within a community where the landscaping, exterior maintenance and painting is taken care of by the HOA.
Attached or Twin Villas
These are similar in construction to villas and will normally share a common dividing wall. All other aspects are the same as detached villas within a community.
Townhomes
A townhome, town home or townhouse is an attached or semi-detached property which could also be a terrace or a row. A townhome is normally part of a community and as such is often described as a condo. Townhomes share a common wall with the property on either side unless it is an end unit in which case it will only share one common wall.
Coach Homes
Coach homes typically cover 2-3 story’s in groups of six individual properties within the block. Individual units will have their own garage and are normally only one floor. Second and third floor units may have private elevators from the lobby areas. These types of properties are often found within master-planned or bundled golf communities. The term Coach Homes is a little ambiguous as they at best one floor condos within a condominium association
Carriage Homes
Carriage homes are a variation of a Coach Home. If located in the same community as a coach home, there will typically be a clear difference. Carriage homes are often larger than coach homes, but this depends solely on the developer.
Estate Homes
Estate homes are large single family homes on large plots of land which could be located in a community, in the country, on a river or lake or even a golf course. Typically, these homes are custom-built by high end builders to the purchasers´ specifications.
Executive Homes
Executive homes are generally oversized single family homes which offer a high quality of construction and finishing. Executive homes are often marketed as stand alone products within high-end communities.
