THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604180272
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: COMMON GROUND
SOURCE: G. ROBERT KIRKLAND and MICHAEL INMAN
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Q. Two of my neighbors and I have been discussing a new development being built near us. The sign says it is a condominium, but the pictures show townhouses.
I thought a condominium was apartments and high-rises. Can you clarify what is meant by the term ``condominium''? Is it a different way of living in a condo?
A. The term ``condominium'' only referred to the form of property ownership; it has nothing to do with the style or type of building. In recent years, we have seen land condominiums, single-family detached homes that are condominiums and even boat slips that are condominiums.
The term refers to any property in which the owners have both a fee simple interest and own other property in common with the other owners. Typically, this means that you own the unit that you live in and share ownership in the parking lot, grounds and recreational facilities.
Buyers should understand that regardless of what the building looks like, it can be a condominium. In fact, the Virginia Condominium Act specifically refers to the fact that if all things are equal, the locality cannot make any additional rules simply because of the condominium form of ownership.
There are two other major forms of ownership in community associations.
The first is the cooperative. With this category, the buyer acquires stock in the corporation, which gives him the right to occupy a specific unit in the community. The association owns all the property.
The second is the homeowners or property owners association form of ownership. Here, each buyer owns his unit and lot fee simple and the association owns all the common property. Each owner is a member of the association and has use of the common property.
All the forms have some type of organization with a board of directors responsible for the day-to-day operation of the association. All property owners are automatically members of the association.
Membership in the association can only be dissolved by the sale of the unit. Membership means an obligation to pay dues and obey the rules. Remember that when you buy in a condominium you are making a commitment to the association and your fellow homeowners.
In order to be happy in an association, you need to be a community-minded person willing to cooperate with your neighbors and abide by decisions of a homeowners board of directors. MEMO: G. Robert Kirkland, president of a Virginia Beach property management
consulting firm, and attorney Michael A. Inman specialize in Virginia
community association issues and are affiliated with the Southeastern
Virginia chapter of the Community Associations Institute. Send comments
and questions to them at 2622 Southern Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va. 23452.
To submit questions by phone, call 486-7265; by fax: 431-0410.
by CNB