What is the difference in owning a condo or townhome compared to owning a house?  In reality, they are just different ways of assuming the responsibilities of homeownership. It can, however, have a bearing on the mortgage amount for which you qualify and some of the ways in which you live.

For some householders, the major attraction for buying a condominium or a townhouse is the lure of “carefree living,” wherein such chores as lawn mowing, watering, weeding, and building maintenance are provided. For others, it is the security often associated with clustered dwellings or the extensive recreational and social facilities that are not economically possible on a single-dwelling–unit basis

When you buy a townhome or condominium you become part of a Common Interest Community (CIC) in a Planned Unit Development (PUD), which shares some of the responsibilities and costs of homeownership. Those shared costs are usually paid by each unit owner in monthly association fees.

The main difference between a townhome and a condominium is that in a condominium the unit owner owns the cubicle of air space that his unit occupies and there is no land attributable to the unit owner. On the other hand, a distinguishing feature of a townhouse is the ownership of the land by the unit owner. The remainder of the building and the land are called the common elements or common areas. 

On another hand, a single family home is a detached  home that has no common walls  and it  is built on its own parcel of land. Single family homes might be part of an Home owner's association (HOA ) and  usually there are Deed restrictions and bylaws(rules and regulations), and  home owner must pay an anual fee. Within the City of Houston , there are multiple neighborhoods that have subdivisions with no home owner's associations (HOA), and there are no mandatory anual fee, only voluntary.  Additonal the owner's of single family homes are responsible for keeping their yard, and the HOA cover's maintenance of common areas, or ammenities from the subdivision.

Condominiums ,townhouses and single family homes with an HOA( Home owner's association) have a list of regulations by which anyone purchasing a unit must abide.  Following are some questions you might ask about the association before buying or renting  a condominium or townhouse.

• Are there any pet restrictions? 
• Do they have enough cash reserves to cover maintenance, etc? 
• How do they pay for major improvements - from reserves from monthly fees or from special assessments? 
• Are there any plans for any major improvements? What and when was the last major project, and how was it funded? 
• Do they allow rentals? If so, are there any restrictions and what percentage of units is currently rented?