Housing Terms
  • Condominiums: In this multiple-ownership property, a purchaser holds title to a specific unit in a high-rise, building complex or townhome community. Condominiums come in various design styles such as contemporary, vintage or loft. The buyer also has a percentage of ownership in the underlying land and common elements such as elevators, stairways, hallways and parking. Each owner pays taxes on his or her unit, as well monthly assessments the condominium association uses to maintain, repair and improve the property. Owners elect a condominium board, which governs the association and in most instances must approve new buyers. Condo owners must abide by the association’s rules and regulations.
  • Cooperatives: In a co-op, residents are shareholders in the corporation that owns the building. The value and size of a specific unit determine the amount of shares a resident must buy. Although residents do not own their units, they have the right to live there for as long as they hold stock in the corporation. Each shareholder is responsible for a portion of property taxes, building maintenance and any loans. Most commonly apartments, co-ops also can be townhomes or row houses. Co-ops have a reputation for exclusivity; their bylaws give the board the right to decide whether a prospective owner can buy into the corporation, and some co-ops require cash-only transactions.
  • Duplex: In Chicago real estate language the term means simply a two-story unit. Within the context of a walk-up vintage building, a high-rise or loft building, a living space could be duplexed to the floor above or below.
  • Flats: This type of apartment or condominium occupies an entire floor of a building. For example, a two-flat is a two-story building with one unit per floor.
  • High-rise or mid-rise: Built since the 1920s, these buildings have many apartments, usually divided vertically into tiers, with identical floor plans stacked on top of each other, but with several different floor plans offered on each floor. High-rises always have elevators and often doormen, swimming pools, commissaries, tennis courts, health clubs and parking.
  • Investment property: Investment property includes two-flats, three-to-six unit buildings and apartment complexes. Owners typically purchase these properties with the expectation of gaining a return on their investment through a combination of rents or leases and appreciation over time. For as long as the owner holds the property, ROI is calculated by deducting related debt and expenses from rents and leases.
  • divisions. A benefit of such conversions is that they preserve the architectural character and heritage of the city’s aging industrial and commercial districts.
  • Renovated or rehabbed: Terms that suggest an older building has had features restored or new mechanics—plumbing, electrical system, etc.—installed.
  • Single-family: In the Tri Cities, these freestanding, one-residence properties most commonly are constructed of brick, wood or stucco. Architectural styles run the gamut— bungalow to Beaux Arts; Victorian, Tudor, ranch and Prairie; Craftsman, Cape Cod, Colonial and contemporary. Homes vary in size, but typically are found on standard city lots, measuring 25 feet by 125 feet. Depending on zoning, they can be one story to four or more stories tall. If the home has a garage, it may be accessed through a city-owned alley, attached or below-grade. Ownership is fee-simple, which means the purchaser has full title and therefore is responsible for all property taxes.
  • Townhomes: Generally smaller than a single-family home, this dwelling is part of a row or complex containing multiple homes of the same or similar design. Units consist of two or more floors, often with a street-level garage. Each townhome shares at least one wall with neighbors, but has its own entrance and outdoor area. Owners have title to--and pay property taxes on--their individual unit and lot, as well as joint ownership of common areas and building exteriors. In a fee-simple scenario, each owner pays for maintaining his or her unit and for services such as snow and garbage removal. Alternately, townhomes can be part of a homeowners association in which all residents equally share financial responsibility for services and common elements such as doors, roofs and gates.