Freehold, condo or POTL
Three kinds of ownership show up in Clarington's rows and the listing rarely spells out which. A full freehold townhouse gives you the lot and the structure with no fee. With a condominium townhouse, the exterior and grounds belong to the corporation, which charges a monthly fee to maintain them, so a status certificate review is part of the purchase. A POTL row, where the house sits on a parcel tied to a shared lane, is common in the rear-lane streets of north Bowmanville and Courtice: the house and lot stay in your name outright, plus a modest monthly charge covering the lane, visitor parking or a private park; lenders treat it as freehold but the fee is real. Ask which one applies, what the fee covers, and whether snow removal and lawn care are included. In three-storey plans, check the stairs against how you will live in ten years.