UNIT 13 HOUSING TYPES Flashcards
Apartment complexes
groups of apartment buildings with varying number of units in each building. The buildings may be lowrise or highrise, and the complexes may include such facilities as parking, clubhouses, swimming pools, and even golf courses.
condominium
popular form of ownership, particularly for people who want the security of owning real estate without the care and maintenance that a house demands. It is also a popular ownership option in areas where property values make single-unit ownership inaccessible for many people. Condominium owners own their units individually and share ownership of common facilities (called common elements), such as halls, elevators, swimming pools, clubhouses, tennis courts, and surrounding grounds. Management and maintenance of building exteriors and common facilities are provided by the governing association and outside contractors, with expenses paid out of monthly assessments charged to owners. While condominiums are often apartment-style homes, this ownership form includes single-family and even commercial properties
cooperative
has units that share common walls and facilities within a larger building. The owners, however, do not actually own the units. Instead, a corporation holds title to the real estate itself. The unit owners actually purchase shares of stock in the corporation, not the individual units. Owners receive proprietary leases and a share of stock. Like condominium unit owners, cooperative unit owners pay their share of the building’s expenses
Planned unit developments (PUDs) or master planned communities
merge such diverse land uses as housing, recreation, and commercial units in one self-contained development. PUDs are planned under special zoning ordinances. These ordinances permit maximum use of open space by reducing lot sizes and street areas. Owners do not have direct ownership interest in the common areas. A community association is formed to maintain these areas, with fees collected from the owners. A PUD may be a small development of just a few homes or an entire planned city.
Converted-use properties
factories, office buildings, hotels, schools, churches, and other structures that have been converted to other uses. Developers often find renovation of such properties more aesthetically and economically appealing than demolishing a perfectly sound structure to build something new. An abandoned warehouse may be transformed into luxury loft housing units, a closed hotel may reopen as an apartment building, or an old factory may be recycled into a profitable shopping mall.
Retirement communities
many of them in temperate climates, are often structured as PUDs. They may provide shopping, recreational opportunities, and health care facilities, in addition to residential units. Security and convenience are major advantages that retirement communities offer for older residents.
Highrise developments, sometimes called mixed-use developments (MUDs)
combine office space, stores, theaters, and apartment units in a single vertical community. MUDs are usually self-contained developments and offer laundry facilities, restaurants, food stores, valet shops, beauty parlors, barbershops, swimming pools, and other attractive and convenient features.
Modular homes (also referred to as prefabricated homes)
are also gaining popularity as the prices rise for newly constructed “stick-built” homes (i.e.,homes built on the construction site). Each room in a modular home is preassembled at a factory, driven to the building site, and then lowered onto its foundation. Later, workers finish the structure and connect plumbing and wiring. Entire developments can be built at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional stick-built construction.
Manufactured housing (also known as a mobile home)
mobile homes are permanent, principal residences or stationary vacation homes. Relatively low cost, coupled with increased living space in the newer models, makes such homes an attractive option for many people. Increased sales have resulted in growing numbers of housing parks in some communities. These parks offer complete residential environments with permanent community facilities as well as semi-permanent foundations and hookups for gas, water, and electricity.
Time-shares
allow multiple purchasers to share ownership of a single property, usually a vacation home or resort property. Each owner is entitled to use the property for a certain period of time each year, usually a specific week or month. In addition to the purchase price, each owner pays an annual maintenance fee.
