Discovering a new lexicon shopping for a house.
an apartment / flat is self-explanatory
house is harder - a house in HK is apparently not an independent unattached unit on it's own erf - seems a 'house' is what I'd call a townhouse ie a unit with or without a garden in a complex with communal areas.
a village house is what I'd call a house but is located in the NT & is subject to special conditions
so what do you call a house NOT in the NT?