Condo Style Question

[Donna Quixote]

OK, I should know this. I have a condo complex that is two stories tall, basement is underground parking. All units are one floor units only. It is not a townhouse, highrise, or detached. It actually seems like an apartment style with main corridor and entrance doors to all units being off center hallway.

What exactly is the definition of "Garden Style" condo? A "Mid-Rise" would be over two floors wouldn't it? Is there such a thing as "Apartment Style" and no, this was never convered from apartments, it was always a condo.

Thanks

 

[ramrcdk]

Hi I have had this before...my opinion...a garden is one level, a midrise over two stories but many less than a highrise. I have inserted either...and it has never been questioned. So, I had a "one story garden in a midrise building"...in the comment section " which typical features of development condo units include ____...and special features of the subject include____."

 

[VegasWayne]

Garden Style: A development of two- or three story walk-up structures built in a garden-like setting; customarily a suburban or rural-urban fringe development. Every appraiser should own an appraisal dictionary.

 

[Donna Quixote]

I have an appraisal dictionary, the Language of Real Estate appraisal, and it was not in there.

 

[c w d]

The AI has a "manual" of sorts for the different forms. They have one specifically for the condo form. In it a garden is described as 1 story, midrise 2 -6 story and highrise is >6. If I remember correctly...which I probably am not since it's been forever and a day since I've done a condo appraisal.....now that I think about it, it's been forever and a day since I did AN appraisal. And if you don't use it then you lose it.

 

[Mztk1]

What is meant by a garden style varies from market to market. Garden style in NY is an apartment that has a patch of land outside for planting, like the first definition below. A unit similar without the land might be considered a "flat" or "loft" or "apartment".

The way I interpret the form, it takes "garden style" to mean the second definition below.

garden apartment 
–noun 1. an apartment on the ground floor of an apartment building having direct access to a backyard or garden.
2. a low-level apartment building or building complex surrounded by lawns and trees, shrubbery, or gardens.

Another fun fact is determining when a garden style apartment becomes a mid-rise and a "mid-rise" a "high-rise". I think they should change the name of garden style to "low-rise", if that indeed is what they mean. Generally, a low rise is up to 4 stories, mid-rise from 5 to 10 and a high rise from 11 and up. But where I went to school in lower Manhattan, my building was 14 stories high and compared to many of the others around it felt more like a low-rise and I certainly would not call it a high-rise relative to the market.