Various types of homes are often incorrectly called condos. Clarification of some terms used is in order here:

• A condominium is a housing style in which the buyers own their apartment units outright, plus an undivided share of the common areas of the community, which include their front and back lawn, if considered part of the design of the complex. Maintenance is handled by the complex or homeowners' association.

• Town homes are two-story attached units that feature the sleeping quarters upstairs. They can be run in a joint-ownership style, the way the condo is, with residents joining an owners' association and paying a monthly maintenance fee to the governing entity. Or residents can own the ground under their unit. The owners' association, maintenance fees, and so forth still apply.

• Patio homes are almost always one-floor houses with a patio or deck in the rear. But these are indeed houses, not apartments. Patio homeowners buy their own place, including the land under and around it (the front and back lawns). They are responsible for the outdoor maintenance. Membership in the owners' association can cover maintenance of the entrance to the community, publication of a newsletter, some social activities, and the like.

• Cooperatives are a form of legal ownership and not an architectural style. In a co-op, tenants who lease individual apartments or units from a corporation collectively own the building by forming a corporation and purchasing shares in it. The corporation maintains and repairs the property. In most cases, new buyers must have approval of the ownership board referred to as the co-op board.

The most popular of these joined housing styles is the condominium. Virtually all of the information in this section is concerned with buying and living in a condo. If, however, you prefer town homes or patio homes, the advice here — on choosing a location, plowing through by-laws, and the like — will apply to you, too.