Calgary Condos

A condominium, or condo, is where a specified part of a piece of real estate (usually of an apartment house) is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights associated with the individual ownership and controlled by the association of owners that jointly represent ownership of the whole piece. Colloquially, the term is often used to refer to the unit itself in place of the word "apartment". A condominium may be simply defined as an "apartment" that the resident "owns" as opposed to rents.

The major difference in Calgary between an apartment and a condominium (condo) is the ownership and or legal. A condominium is a collection of individual owners whereas an apartment is typically one owner who rents out each individual unit. In most Calgary condos you technically only own the air space confining the boundaries of the home. Normally these boundaries include the drywall surrounding a room, allowing the owner to make interior changes without impacting the common area. Anything outside this boundary is held in an undivided ownership interest by a corporation referred to as the condo board. They hold this property or "area" in trust on behalf of the other owners as a group, it may not have ownership itself.

Usually a condo or condominium consist of multi-unit dwellings where each unit is owned individually and all other areas (the common areas), are owned jointly by the rest of the unit owners in the condo, however it is also possible here in Calgary for condominiums to consist of single family dwellings where the owners do not maintain the exteriors of the dwellings and yards, etc.

For most of the condo units in Calgary there are a separate set of Bylaws which govern the affairs of the condominium. Condo bylaws establish the responsibilities of the owners, the association; the voting process which is used at association meetings; and duties of the board of directors; the officers; and the obligations of each of the owners in regards to maintenance, assessments, and use of the units and common areas.

Lastly, a set of Rules and Regulations provide specific details of restrictions and conduct are established by the Board. Typically here in Calgary these rules include mandatory maintenance fees, pet restrictions, design and or color choices visible from the outside of the units and can include such things as indoor noise control. Generally, condominium unit owners can rent out their homes, although it may be subject to conditions/restrictions set forth by the board, however this is not typical in most Calgary condos.

If you have any questions regarding any specific condo in Calgary and or would like to take a closer look at any of the condos currently for sale in any of the Calgary communities please feel free to contact me at anytime as I would be more than happy to help in any way.

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