What's a Condo? What's a Patio Home?

In arizona a condominium is a type of ownership. But most people that are looking at buying Real Estate are interested in the type of construction or building type.

Is it apartment style, townhouse, patio home or a single family Detached home?

An apartment style home generally will have neighbors on either side or behind and neighbors above or below you. This is a three story building with elevators for the home owners on the second and third floors.

Townhome style will have neighbors on either side, but not above or below. You'll probably get some private outdoor space with a privacy wall, but not always. The front space will be common areas. Some townhomes have carports or assigned parking. A few will have garages.

Patio Homes may have neighbors on either side. They look more like single family homes with attached walls. They have front yards that are usually maintained by the homeowners association and drive ways. They have back yards in most cases.

Single Family Detached Homes have no shared walls. This blog won't be dealing with aspects of owning this type of property.

All these properties can be single level or multiple levels. Apartment style homes can be single level, but not street level. These properties can be 2-3-4 plexes, clustered, string or high rise in nature.

About Pat

I'm Pat Monahan, a REALTOR® in arizona. I specialize in selling and buying townhomes, condos and patio homes. Any property with a shared wall with it's neighbor.

I've been doing this for almost 10 years (1997), specializing in townhomes for about 5. My wife joined me in Real Estate almost 4 years ago( 2003).

I hang my license at West USA Realty and can be reached at 480-917-1922. My wife's name is Amy. One of us will answer the phone.

Agents say to me all the time, why do you specialize and not sell everything. I wonder if they expect their doctors to know everthing in medicine? Or their lawyers to practice in all areas of law? I wonder if they want their plumbers to do carpentry work or roof work? Do they call Dominoes and ask for a cheeseburger and fries?

The truth is, if you specialize you become better and more knowledgable about your area of expertise. You know about the specific communities and about HOA specifics. You know when pricing is rising in one community, but not in another. You can also help your clients to make more money when they sell or save more money when they buy.

Some agents can wing it or pretend to be an expert in all areas of real estate. But, how many agents can truly know about all geographic areas, know about all communities whether they are townhome, single family, farm, resort or vacant lots? How many can know all the laws about commercial properties and then know everything about residential too? Do they know everything about horse properties, waterfront properties, high rise condos and historic homes?

I admit it. I do not know about most of those types of properties. But, I do know a lot about townhomes, condos and patio homes in Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert Arizona.

I hope to share a lot of this knowledge in this blog.

pat

A Blog about townhomes

OK. I'm new to blogging. This is a blog for those folks that want to learn more about townhomes in the Phoenix area. Specifically Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert and some parts of Phoenix and Scottsdale.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll answer them the best I can.

I'll try to give you information about the market, various communities, HOA info and more.

Thanks, Pat