The key difference between a condo association and a homeowners' association is what the individual members actually own.

With a condo, each member owns their individual unit and those they have a joint ownership interest within the common areas. As an example, a condo owner features a joint ownership stake within the lobby of the building. All condo owners are members of their community's association and that they share ownership stake in what that association owns.

The scope of ownership may be a bit different with homeowners' associations. With an HOA, each member owns their individual property and their lot. However, common areas are owned by the homeowners' association itself—meaning there's no joint ownership interest within the common areas. The HOA could also be an entirely independent entity or it's going to be owned by the developer of the community.

Contact at Keough & Moody, P.C our Illinois community association lawyers at https://kmlegal.com/.