With a condo you own the walls in, and everyone collectively owns the exterior and other common areas. It is up to the owners as a group to decide what is allo

With a condo you own the walls in, and everyone collectively owns the exterior and other common areas. It is up to the owners as a group to decide what is allowed in the common area. You can generally bore a hole in the roof or walls for a good reason, like to put up and connect to solar panels or vent your stove. The association budget is similarly decided, and in practice much more predictable and stable than the costs incurred by a single family home owner. City and county laws, zoning restrictions, and the building permitting dept all restrict what you can do in a single family home often in ways an HOA would not. For instance in many areas parking on the grass, extending your driveway(so you are no longer on the grass), turning a garage into living space, putting in a permanent pool, building a deck, parking a boat or rv, are all often restricted or banned.