Apartments are usually characterized by living spaces within the multi-unit building having their own designated areas separated from each other through walls or floor-to-ceiling partitions. Most apartments also contain one or more bedrooms that open from a central living space such as a hallway, lounge, or another common area.

Typical houses can range from simple dwellings to complex, fixed structures of wood, brick, concrete or other materials containing plumbing, ventilation, and electrical systems. In most Western countries at least one common type of single-family detached home predominates. A house may be accompanied by outbuildings, such as a garage for vehicles or workshop; a garden; both or patio.

A cottage, which typically is a small, cosy dwelling with a functional and spacious floor plan, that suits the needs of an individual family.

A bungalow with full basements (and most often also with either carports or garages) to accommodate one or more cars. Some modern homes are now built on stilts, allowing airflow beneath the home improving insulation and reducing moisture problems within walls.

A condominium which can be part of a larger structure containing other units, typically is a multi-unit residence where individual units are owned and titled, and residents each own one or more units and have exclusive rights to those spaces

A ranch-style home is usually associated with having just one single story above ground as well as typically including a garage that fronts directly into the main living area of the building.

An apartment complex is either a building that contains a number of individual homes, typically a few per floor with private balconies and in which all of the individual units are owned separately.

A modernist high-rise housing complex is similar to apartments, but it is distinguished by having fewer units per floor and its shape commonly consists of 5 to 15 (or more) stories designed with large open spaces that allow sunlight into all areas; this allows for larger, brighter yet fewer total rooms than in older buildings with fewer windows. - A bachelor apartment or bachelorette apartment, which can be a small apartment with only one bedroom that is designed for single occupancy.

- A duplex unit has its own private entrance from the ground level outside or from an upper-level balcony; each side of the duplex contains its own complete independent living area (separate telephone line, separate electrical power meter). Common walls are present between units and there is no direct access from one side to the other.

- A studio apartment is a small apartment, often found in a building designed for the purpose. The apartment may consist of one room that serves as both a bedroom and living room, or a small cluster of rooms (bedroom, kitchen/dining room, and living room).

Strata, also called a body corporate or an owners' corporation, is the legal entity that manages the apartments within a building or other structure. Owners' corporations must be registered with state government authorities to manage separate areas of land.

This includes not only the common areas but also all common property including letterboxes, light fixtures, garden beds etc., it is separate from individual units because unlike these the owner's corporation has ongoing legal responsibility for its maintenance.

Legal strata are apartments whose unit entitlements are defined by a registered plan. Depending on the scheme's size and complexity, many or all of these may be divided into two or more categories each with its own rules that must be complied with. These include for example:

• Body corporate, which controls common property and enforces compliance with scheme restrictions
• Unit owners' corporation to manage building facilities shared by individual units
• Site owners' corporation controls parts of the land outside any buildings including landscaping and earthworks
• The developer will usually have ensured that the creation of the separate strata titles are recorded in a legal document known as the strata plan.

The main function of this private organization is to manage shared property, and enforce compliance with their rules. It also enforces bylaws designed to protect the interests of residents. Examples of strata issues include parking spaces, pets living on the premises , sidewalk damage, or drying laundry outdoors.

The cost of owning a strata-titled property can be divided into two types; levies and strata fees. Levies are used for repairs and maintenance, while the latter covers day-to-day costs such as cleaning services, administration expenses eg. salaries of staff who manage it etc., insurance premiums paid to insure all common property included within the building structure.

The strata title fee is a monthly/quarterly/annual charge paid by the owners on their share of the allotted common property or facilities that you'll get within your estate. An example might be lift upkeep, pool maintenance and perhaps an annual line cleaning down the road at a certain time each year. This money, therefore, comes from you to pay for it - but some estates may not have these types of amenities while others could possibly have more depending on what you choose when buying your apartment within your housing estate.

A household living in a freestanding home must pay state and local fees such as council rates, water rates, etc. You must also pay state and possibly federal property taxes. On top of these fees, every homeowner must pay his or her own insurance.



Every year you are required to take out an annual insurance policy to cover the structure of your home in case it is damaged during a storm.

As well as this, every homeowner must pay his or her own insurance for household items contained within their house including electrical devices and furniture inside your living room. If these items are stolen, broken due to vandalism etc., only the owner that has paid the insurance will have money reimbursed towards replacing them.