A manor home is a condo that looks more like a townhouse than the typical apartment building condo. The ones I have seen are all two stories and are smaller than a typical multi-unit condo building, most often grouped with 4 units in a building. It is a condo rather than a townhouse because there are main floor and upper level units. You own the air space of your unit rather than the space from the ground to the sky as with a townhouse.
Often buyers haven’t even heard of manor homes. Evidently not all Realtors are familiar with them, either. I was out with a client last weekend searching for townhomes, and one on her list was the one in the photo above. I was puzzled why it even turned up in her search because it isn’t a townhome… it is a manor home. It turns out the agent made an error in classifying it as a side-by-side townhome.
In the MLS, manor homes fall under the Condo/Coops classification, as Manor/Village. Manor style condos often feel like a cross between condos and townhomes, having more of a townhouse than a condo feel. There are different configurations but the units are often grouped in fours. In the complex above, all units have their own entrance from the outside and their own garage directly accessible to their unit. There are upper level units and main floor units… meaning the units are more ‘horizontal’ than ‘vertical’, with living space on one level.
Another common configuration is in the complex above. Here, four units share a common entrance, with two units on the main floor and two units on the upper level. The garages are all lined up in a row, accessible from a shared hallway off the common entrance… the door you see on the left in the photo above. You don’t have to go outside to get to your garage, but you also don’t have direct access from your garage into your unit. I have not seen elevators in manor homes, so if your unit is on the upper level you must climb stairs to get there.
There also are styles where the garage is detached from the building entirely, but that style isn’t as common. These are merely examples, there may be other configurations I haven’t seen yet!
Don’t confuse condo style, which refers to architectural style, with the condominium form of ownership and property management. Check other condo/townhome posts for more information on fees, restrictions, and other items related to the condominium form of ownership.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
