Freehold interest (also known as a fee simple) is the more precise term for what we ordinarily refer to as "ownership" of a home. The owner of the freehold interest has full use and control of the land and the buildings on it, subject to any rights of the Crown, local land-use bylaws, and any other restrictions in place at the time of purchase. In freehold right there is no limit of time to hold the property like in case of leasehold property. A freehold property lies with the title holder unless he/she transfers it of his or her
In some cases, you might purchase the right to use a residential property for a long, but limited, period of time. The owner of this right of use has a type of ownership called a leasehold interest. This type of ownership is used most often for townhouses or apartments built on city-owned land. It is also used occasionally for single detached homes on farm land, on First Nation reserves, and for apartments where the owner of the freehold interest of an entire apartment block sells leasehold interests in individual apartment units to other "owners." Leasehold interests are frequently set for periods of 99 years, but regardless of the length of the original term, you will only be able to purchase the remaining portion. Of course, the shorter the remaining portion, the less you, or the person who eventually purchases from you, will be willing to pay for the leasehold interest. This type of ownership comes in the form of Pre-Paid or Non Pre-Paid. If the Lease if Pre-Paid, it was paid off in full at the conception of the development. If the Lease is Non Pre-Paid you will be paying off the lease proportionately with all the other members of the strata on a monthly basis as a part of your strata fees.
In the cooperative form of ownership, each owner owns a share in a company or cooperative association which, in turn, owns a property containing a number of housing units along with its common area and which some or all members can utilize. Each shareholder is assigned one particular unit in which to reside.
The strata title form of ownership is designed to provide exclusive use and ownership of a specific housing unit (the strata lot) which is contained in a larger property (the strata project), plus shared use and ownership of the common areas such as halls, grounds, garages, elevators, etc. This type of ownership is used for duplexes, apartment blocks, townhouse complexes, warehouses, and many other types of buildings. In addition, some single family home developments may be part of a bare-land strata development. Because ownership of the common space is shared, the owners also sharefinancial responsibility for its maintenance.
A building or complex in which units of property, such as apartments, are owned by individuals and common parts of the property, such as the grounds and building structure, are owned jointly by the unit owners. This structure has 1 common entry for all residents.
A single-family detached home, or single-family home or detached house for short is a free-standing residential building. Most single-family homes are built on lots larger than the structure itself, adding an area surrounding the house, which is commonly called a yard.
A dwelling generally having two or more floors and attached to other similar units via common walls. Town houses are often used in planned unit developments and condominium developments, which provide for clustered or attached housing and common open space. Townhouses have their own individual private entrance similar to a detached houses.
