Multi Family House

A multifamily house is like a communal building or structure. It is a structure built and designed purposely to house different families in separate houses. It may be separate houses built within a complex or different apartments contained in a single building.

The styles of the houses you can find in a multifamily house varies, you may find duplexes, town homes or basic apartments. All the units within the building or structure may be owned and leased out by a company or by an individual but there are instances where an individual, having bought one or more units independently owns his part of the building or structure. This is usually the case when people purchase condominiums.

One popular example of a multifamily house is apartment buildings. There are several other types as discussed below:

Two-flat

A two flat is a building or structure built on a plot of land that houses two apartments, one occupying the first floor while the other one occupies the second floor. Two flats traditionally evolved from the need to have a living space for the in law that comes visiting. The flats share a common basement, a common front entrance, a common lobby and stairs that lead to the second floor. However, in line with the guides by HUD and the regulated mortgage industry, the entrances are separate and the top flat can be accessed without having to go through the stairs in the down flat, the two flats should have different front entrances. The two flats may have separate verandas that are built just on top of one another.

There are houses built solely to fit this purpose and there are also many houses that were altered to reflect this style.

Three-flat

Just like the concept behind the  two flat, it is building structure housing three flats built on top of one another on the same plot of land, sharing the same basement and  a building similar to a two-flat except there are three flats. Three flat buildings has three different front entrance. These types of housing structures are popular in old neighbourhoods in places like Brooklyn, chicago.

Four-flat

This is also similar to the three flat but with four flats. However to properly accommodate the structure, the lot may be larger than the basic lot.

Duplex

A duplex is mostly a multi-family house but it may be used for other purpose that is different from residential. It is sometimes used for commercial purposes. Its major feature is that it is made up of two living units with a common wall. The buildings are commonly attached to each other but deeded as one i.e. belonging to the same person.it may be one story structure or may be two storeys with the structure built one on top of the other.

Condominium

Condominiums are units within a multifamily house that is bought and not given out on lease. It is usually popular in highly urbanised places where they are built within high rise structures. There are some condominiums that may be found in low rise structures too. A condominium shares one or two walls with other units within the complex.

Condo owners do not pay rent but may pay service charges for maintenance and utility purposes within the building. The hallways are shared with other people living in the complex but the interior is exclusively owned by the condo owner.

Townhouse

A townhouse is a type of multifamily home which may be constructed as a two or three story building but shares a wall or two with other houses. The property owner has a greater right to property than as enjoyed in a condominium.

Apartment building

This is a building that has a lot of apartments all contained in one building. It usually contains many floors and on each floor, there are many apartments. The sizes of apartment buildings vary and you may find some with a few apartments while some have apartments numbering into 100s.

You may find them built with hallways and inside entrances that provide access to individual apartments. However some of the buildings provide external entrance to each apartment . It all depends on the design.

The apartment building may be owned by one person or an entity while each unit will be rented out or you may have arrangements where each unit may be owned as a condominium by separate individuals.

Mixed use building

This is a building that is built to accommodate people for residential purposes and also for commercial purposes. In buildings like this, you may find that the lower floor(s) are used for commercial purposes while the top floors are residential.

You may also find buildings on the same lot where the office is being run in front while the residential area is at the back area.

There are assortments of ways this can play out. An owner may lease out all the residential units or use part of it by himself.

Apartment Community

Sometimes referred to as apartment complex, an apartment community is a set of apartment buildings on adjoining lots owned by the same person or entity.

Many times, it boasts of a lot of amenities like swimming pool, parks, shopping centres and sometimes sporting facilities for ease of living for the residents of the apartments. However, these amenities are shared with other occupants.

Co-op

Structurally, a co-op is very much like a condo with the availability of a foyer and some shared amenities. The difference is in its ownership structure.

Residents of co-ops become shareholders of the housing corporation that owns the house. This means they have no proprietary right by themselves over the house. They earn their rights to reside in the building by buying shares from the housing corporation.

The residents who are also shareholders in the building elect a governing board that determines the operating budget to be used in maintaining the house annually. The board is also in charge of allocation of funds for property improvements and they also collect monthly maintenance fees.

Related Questions

Published on 9th June 2017

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