The distinguishing features of a condominium estate are

The distinguishing features of a condominium estate are

• A. ownership of a share in an association that owns one's apartment.
• B. tenancy in common interest in airspace and common areas of the property.
• C. fee simple ownership of the airspace in a unit and an undivided share of the entire property's common areas.
• D. fee simple ownership of a pro rata share of the entire property.

Answer: (C)

In a condominium, you own the space inside your unit in fee simple and you hold an undivided, shared interest in the building’s common areas with the other unit owners. This combination—fee simple ownership of the unit’s airspace plus a proportional, undivided interest in the common elements—is what defines a condo. The common areas are owned collectively by all unit owners and managed through a homeowners association, while each individual unit remains separately owned. The other patterns don’t fit this structure. Owning a share in a corporation that owns the apartment describes a cooperative arrangement rather than a condo. Owning a tenancy in common for the airspace and common areas misstates how condo units are titled, which is typically fee simple for the unit itself. Owning a fee simple pro rata share of the entire property would imply private ownership of a portion of the entire building or land, not the separate unit plus shared common elements that characterize condos.

In a condominium, you own the space inside your unit in fee simple and you hold an undivided, shared interest in the building’s common areas with the other unit owners. This combination—fee simple ownership of the unit’s airspace plus a proportional, undivided interest in the common elements—is what defines a condo. The common areas are owned collectively by all unit owners and managed through a homeowners association, while each individual unit remains separately owned.

The other patterns don’t fit this structure. Owning a share in a corporation that owns the apartment describes a cooperative arrangement rather than a condo. Owning a tenancy in common for the airspace and common areas misstates how condo units are titled, which is typically fee simple for the unit itself. Owning a fee simple pro rata share of the entire property would imply private ownership of a portion of the entire building or land, not the separate unit plus shared common elements that characterize condos.