Condo or house in Florida — what actually differs

Always. It covers the building's insurance, the exterior, the lobby, the pool, often water. In South Florida it is frequently the largest line after the mortgage.

Often none, or a small one in a planned community. But nothing is bundled: the roof, the yard and the pool are paid by you, when they break.

You insure the interior; the association insures the structure. Association premiums have risen sharply, and that arrives inside your fee rather than as your own bill.

You insure everything, and the roof's age largely sets the price. An old roof can make a house expensive to insure — or hard to insure at all.

A special assessment. The board decides, and you pay your share whether you agree or not. Since the 2022 law these have become common in older buildings.

Nobody can bill you. But nobody shares the cost of a new roof either — and in Florida that is a real number.

The bank approves you and the building. A project with thin reserves, litigation or too many rentals can stop a loan that you personally qualify for.

The bank looks at you and at that one property. No board, no questionnaire, no project eligibility list.

Usually restricted: a minimum lease term, a limit on how many times a year, board approval of the tenant and a fee for it.

Far freer, and the tenant is your decision. City rules on short-term rentals still apply, and they differ street by street.

Air and a share of a building. Buildings age; the land underneath is shared with everyone else in it.

The land as well — and land is the part that tends to hold value while the structure wears out.

The board. Renovations, pets, tenants, sometimes even the flooring you may lay — all go through approval.

You, within city permits — and within the rules of a homeowners association if the community has one.

You compete with near-identical units in the same building, so price does most of the talking.

Every house is different, which cuts both ways: fewer direct rivals, but a narrower pool of buyers.

The building takes it, and the association organises the repair. High floors get more wind; evacuation orders are a fact of coastal life.

Your roof, your shutters, your call — and your contractor to find afterwards, in the same week as every neighbour.