Chicago is an amazing place, not only because of its big city appeal and midwestern vibe but also because of the different styles of living you can experience. You can find a range of homes spanning from your stand-alone single-family home up to the penthouse level of a 50 story high rise. Whatever your preferred choice of home, we’ve got you covered to help decide which is better for you.

Home Owners Association (HOA): An organization in a condominium or community building that makes and enforces rules for the property and its residents.

1.Single-family home

This is a single residence that sits on its own plot of land and shares no walls with neighbors. This type of residence is used as a single dwelling for 1 family. The responsibility of this type of residence falls solely on the owner. Single-family homes are not typically part of a Home Owners Association (HOA) and therefore do not have to pay HOA fees.

2. Walk-up

These can be referred to as a few different things here in Chicago. I’ve heard them called Brownstones, a Walk-up, 3 Flat, 4 Flat, and simply a Condo. A walk-up has 3-4 stories and one unit per floor allowing for multiple owners in one building. Many times there is a Garden Unit located in the basement of the building that is fully fitted for living. In this type of residence, all owners are part of an HOA and share the responsibilities of the residence together.

3. Duplex

In Chicago, there are such things as a Duplex Up and Duplex Down. A Duplex in a basic sense is a residence that is located in a multi-unit building and occupies two floors or more floors. A Duplex-up is typically located on the top floor of a building and most times have special roof access and privileges. A Duplex Down is located (you guessed it) on the lowest level and extends down to the Garden unit.

4. Mid-rise

A midrise building will extend no higher than 7 stories and consists of multiple residences that can take up an individual floor, or can hold multiple units per floor based on lot size. A midrise will have an HOA to manage and maintain the property. A midrise can have some common space amenities to be shared by the whole community such as rooftop decks, garage/parking, on-site management, and other amenities.

5. High-rise

Other than architectural construction a high rise has no limit to how high it can go. These are the build buildings that you drive between when you are downtown Chicago. High-rise buildings come with additional perks that mid-rises can not provide such as rooftop decks, and pools. In-door pools, on-site fitness center, libraries, conference rooms, lounge space, office dens, libraries, print-copy-fax-scan office space, dry cleaning, and much more. Along with the high-rise lifestyle can also come 24-hour door staff and on-site management. High rises are also part of an HOA. With more amenities comes high monthly HOA fees (someone has to pay the door staff).

6. Townhome

Usually 3 stories or more, a townhome has no upstairs or downstairs neighbors. They occupy a single residence and connect to other similar townhomes to the left and/or right by sharing adjacent walls but have their own private entrance. Townhomes are also part of an HOA.

7. Co-op

A cooperative is a different way to look at owning a home. The simplest way to describe to you a co-op is to say that instead of owning an individual unit inside of the building you now own a percentage of the building. A co-op is similar in many ways to high-rises and mid-rises the only difference is the terms of ownership.

Tip - The difference between a condo and an apartment: An apartment is a unit within a building made up of multiple units. An apartment building is owned by one person with each unit rented out individually. A condo is when one single unit within a larger building of units is owned by an individual party.