If this is your first time buying a home, you may be surprised to find out that there are actually distinct terms for several different types of homes. You’ll want to know what these terms mean, so that you can look for the right type of home for you.
Single-Family Home: Your standard traditional “house,” often with a backyard and possibly a garage.
Duplex: A single building divided into two separate homes, each with its own entrance. A duplex usually has one owner owning both units.
Townhouse: A multifloor house that shares walls with adjacent houses but has its own entrance. The adjacent houses typically do not have the same owner.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU): A secondary house or apartment on the same lot as a larger “main house.” ADUs can be attached or detached.
Mansion: A huge, impressive house, often with high-end amenities and lots of private land. There is no single legal definition, so there is some subjectivity.
Apartment: A private residence within a building or complex of other residences, often rented from a landlord or company. If one needs to disambiguate, a single residence could be called an apartment unit, while all residences taken together are called an apartment complex.
Condo(minium): As above, but a condo is owned rather than rented.
Cabin: A small, simple house, often in a remote location and typically built from natural materials like wood.
Tiny Home: A very small, cozy, minimalist dwelling that maximizes efficiency in a small space.
Co-Op: This is more of an ownership arrangement rather than a type of home in which residents own shares in a corporation that owns the building rather than owning it themselves.
Modular Home: A house built in sections in a factory and then transported to a site for final assembly. This could be several of the other types as well.
Mobile Home: A portable house with wheels, such as a caravan or trailer.
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