Yet condos offer many advantages over houses. Most maintenance costs are handled by the condo homeowners association, of which each condo is a member. I usually visit my condo once a month for a few days of weekend vacation. When I leave, I especially enjoy turning the key in the door and not having to worry about maintaining my condo. That's all taken care of by the homeowners association.
Every state has laws regarding condominiums, also known as vertical subdivisions.
Condos became popular in the United States in the 1970s. Historically, they originated in about 2000 B.C. in Babylonia, where a document has been found referring to the sale of the first floor of a house where the seller retained title to the second floor. The Brooklyn Museum contains a condominium deed written in 434 B.C., which describes an apartment, its boundaries, the right of sale and even an early version of title insurance. By 1967, all 50 states had condo laws. In 1970, there were only about 300,000 U.S. condos.