What exactly is the difference between a condo and apartment?

Question

Okay Im new to the whole renting thing. And I dont really know the difference in a apartment and condo.

What is the difference?

Can you just rent a condo like you do an apartment?

Answer 1

you usually own a condo and rent an apartment
but some people buy condos and rent them out.

Answer 2

The difference is all in the legal docs, you can't tell the difference by looking. No difference in how they're built or anything like that. Generally, apartments are in a building or complex that's all owned by one company that rents them all out, and Condos are sold to individual owners. But then, some condo owners rent them to other people, too.

Answer 3

A condo is individual ownership of a unit in a multiunit structure (as an apartment building) or on land owned in common (as a town house complex).

An apartment is a room or set of rooms fitted especially with housekeeping facilities and usually leased as a dwelling.

Simply put, you own a condo and you rent an apartment.

Happy Hunting!

Answer 4

ok, this is what i have learned in my vast experiance of deceiding rather to buy a condo or keep my home.
apartments: you will never own your little personal space you call home. you wont have the privacy of the condo. if you need something fixed the landlord does it and does it on his own time schedule. its all very legal, but could mess up your own schedule. eithor way dont be on the bottom floor and the sewer pipe burst your home will be wet with sewage. my personal experiance is apartments, no matter how nice, attract gangs. yes, gangs and criminals and sex offenders. now onto condos.
we have 4 basicly different kinds of condos and trust me the price is normally reflexed in each one.
one looks just like an apartment. has other people all around it and under it just like an apartment building. you might have a garage space or you might not. these are pretty cheep. 2nd one looks more like a townhouse in a row. the end units or more desirable and are reflected in the price. your garage maybe attached (your basement) or detached (outside your tiny backyard). 3rd condo is the one where you only have one other home attached to your home. usually they are connected by the garages so more privacy. have seen some connected by the bedrooms.....hummmm just wrong in my mind. then your big grand daddy of condoes are stand alone....they are just like a house all buy themselves but they stand alone and the price is always going to reflect that. usually you have condoes fees every month for cleaning of the streets of snow and ice and yard maintance. sometimes you have to mantain certains areas of your own yard. most of the time you cannot have a fence or bigger deck then the small patio you are givin with the condo.
would i buy a condo? no. i wont ever want my wichy neighbor on the board of directors making my life hell. i wouldnt want her cigerate smoke wondering into my home. i wont want my other neighbors bugs/roaches in my home. i just want my privacy and that you wont get in a condo or gated community.or even a homeowners association. soooo good luck

Answer 5

Condos are built for owners ( usually have washer & dryer space etc ) amenities for that higher income .
A condo owner may decide to rent out his unit .

Apartments are bulk built for that market and there are no owners there .
They also typically lack many of the amenities of a condo .

Although , an investor could buy an apartment building and turn it into condos . . .

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Answer 6

You own a condo (or rent from the owner) but you don't own the land that it is on
An apartment is just rented (or sublet from someone who has already rented it).

Answer 7

You have to buy a condo (unless the owner is renting it), like you would buy a house.

An apartment you rent, but don't actually own.