There are numerous types of condominium formats for residential, recreational, resort, and commercial purposes. To give you a better understanding of the wide variety of options available, here is an overview of the most common formats to consider:
Residential Condominiums
Residential condominiums can be found in either the metropolitan or the suburban setting.
Metropolitan location
In the metropolitan setting the most common formats are:
a modern high-rise apartment building
a three-to-five storey new mid-rise building
a converted older building that formerly consisted of rental apartments
a building where the street-level floor is owned jointly by the condominium corporation members (the unit owners) and which is rented out to retailers to help offset the common maintenance fees of the residential condominiums in the rest of the building
same format as the previous example, except that the retail space is sold as condominiums.
Suburban location
Suburban condominiums tend to be of a different format and are most often found in the form of:
cluster housing consisting of multi-unit structures, using housing of two to four units apiece, each with its own private entranceway
townhouse-type single-family homes distributed in rows garden apartments consisting of a group of apartment buildings surrounding a common green, frequently with each of the floors held by separate condominium owners
a series of detached single-family homes in a subdivision format, all utilizing the same land and parking areas
duplexes, triplexes, or four-plexes.
The suburban condominium format tends to make maximum use of the land while creating attractive views, private driveways, and common recreational facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, saunas, playground, etc. Many residential condominium developments, with the conveniences and amenities being offered, have created a complete lifestyle experience. The purpose of these separate developments – restaurants, shopping centres, recreational and entertainment facilities, and care facilities for older people – is to make the condominium community a very distinct and self-contained environment and community for many people.
To help your research and save you time and hassle, check out our
free checklists and forms on our "Worksheet" section, as well as the
stats, surveys, and reports, useful links, etc, on our "Helpful Info" section, both shown on the index on your left.
