There are many significant differences, as well as many significant similarities, between a condominium and an apartment.

SIMILARITIES:

• Face it, they both look alike. Seriously, take a walk down by the beach one day and try and guess which building is a condo and which is an apartment. This task is not as easy as one would think.
• Both apartments and condos are shared properties, what this means is that they are each buildings that have individual living units.
• Both apartments and condos have maintenance fees for things such as the pool, lawn and general items. An apartment will typically include these fees in your rent while a condo will charge separately for these items and call them Homeowner Association fees.

DIFFERENCES:

• The main difference between a condo and an apartment is ownership. An entire apartment building is typically owned by one individual or a company, which can also be the property manager. The owners run the building, take care of the maintenance and lease out the units. With a condo, each individual living unit is privately owned by one individual. Many condo owners purchase their condo, live elsewhere and rent out their condominium to someone else.
• A condominium has many amenities such a a concierge, in-house dining, covered parking and some may even have their own convenience store located in the lobby area. Whereas with an apartment you typically would park in front of your apartment and there is not a "lobby area" per-say, there would be more of an office located somewhere on the property.
• When renting an apartment and you have a plumbing issue or your refrigerator has broken, the Apartment Association is normally responsible for making the repairs. If these issues where to take place while renting a condo you may be responsible for the repairs yourself. Be sure to check your lease so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you are not surprised.

So there you have it, the next time you are walking down the beach wondering if the building you are looking at is a condo or an apartment, you may have to ask.