answer:Generally, apartments that you own are condos or co-ops. A condo is an interest in the specific property, and therefore your use of the apartment is less restricted. A co-op means that you own a share in the entire building relative to the assigned value of the specific apartment in which you reside. Because you essentially own shares in the entire building, a co-op building will have a board that both must approve you when you buy the place, certain alterations and renovations to the apartment, will charge a higher maintanence fee, and also, when you move to sell the place, will have the discretion to approve the new tenant before the sale goes through. For these reasons, condos are more often priced higher than a co-op. A townhouse is just a townhouse – a tall thin house that is or nearly is abutting the property next to it. you can own or rent a townhouse – but if you own it, it’s pretty much a house.