We don't want to throw away our money (the little we have) with an apartment so we're looking into co-ops. Any suggestions or advice???
Fran M
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
location, location, location
CherylBooch
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
Our friends bought a co-op in Roslyn. They are regretting every second. They hate having to get everything approved and they hate having to pay the maintenence fee, which is astronomical. It turns out with everything said and done that they are paying just as much as they would for a mortgage on a house! Actaully they are only paying a few hundred less than we are going to be paying for our house!!
octobergirl
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
We did and are extremely happy. It depends on the coop itself though, do lots of research! We could not afford a house, and didn't want to throw away money on rent, so its perfect for us.
Misty
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
LOCATION, and get the financials before you commit, ask and investigate about the reputation, find out who is running it, make sure it's fully cooperative or very close to it, and find out what the maintenance covers.
bethsiar
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
WOW
THis is really helpful! thanks so much you guys!!!!
What would I do without all of you? (or where would i be? )
Any more advice welcome, but what's been said is really great!!!!
I think this the only way we can mortgage anything-I wish so much I was shopping for a house!
octobergirl
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
Just another thing, the buying process is a little more involved than buying a house. You have to be approved by a coop board, and at closing, they have a representative there, so it can take longer to go through the whole process than actually buying a house. Let me know if you have any other questions! Good luck!
hotelcalie
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
We just closed today on our co-op!! We are very happy so far. Our board is very easy going...we do not need approval to do anything to the inside of our place, the only thing we need to do is warn them if it will be loud or smelly (getting floors redone smells so they inform your neighbors with a note to warn them). We wanted a house buy couldn't afford the prices of Long Island...so a co-op was what we could afford. Now we have an investment, tax write-off, and a place that is ours! We are only paying about $150 more a month then we were paying to rent and alot less than we would be paying if we bought a house. My advice: Location is key for re-sale, check out who lives there and ask how strict the board is, some places are very strict and others are laid back. Good Luck!
Sasha96
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
Again, location! Also, find out how resale has been for the development and find out what the renter to owner ratio is. You don't want many rented...for upkeep of the place and resale.
Elizabeth
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
Here's something to keep in mind about a coop. You dont really own the apt, you own shares of the coop. Therefore, whatever overall things need to be done, you will pay in accordance with how many shares you own, and those can be 'hidden costs'. I'd think you should check out how much debt the coop is carrying. If they are highly-leveraged, it's the shareholders that have to absorb the costs. Also, see how many of the units are owned and how many are renters. My mother just sold her coop and they had just raised the maintenance $100 for her (she has a one bedroom). It was higher for people with larger apts. It was because the funds were not handled properly, they should have been paying more all along to pay down debt. But the renters don't have to absorb any of that. And some of the renters are rent stabilized. They sent around to owners a list of which apartments were rentals. The person next door to her had a 3 bedroom apt and paid $660 a month! In a really nice area! Meanwhile her maintenance on a 1 bedroom was a good bit higher than that.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just some things to keep in mind.
HTH
One other thing, sometimes its better to have a stricter board. It keeps 'the other people' in line and not causing disturbances.
karen32
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
i second what elizabeth said. buying a co-op means you are buying stock in a corporation, not that you are buying a house. for your investment, you are entitled to live there. just be very careful - if the board is mismanaging money you could be in for a lot of trouble down the road with very little legal recourse.
have you thought about buying a condo instead?? buying a condo is the same as buying a house, except you are attached to your neighbors. it is much less risky than buying a co-op,
whatever you decide, make sure you do LOTS of research.
good luck!!
Jenny
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Re: Did anyone buy a co-op?
We owned one for the past three years and just sold it last month. It worked out well for us since the price more than doubled in less than three years! It enabled us to afford a very nice house while giving us all the benefits of ownership over the past three years.
It's the least desirable form of ownership (#1-house, #2-Condo, #3-Co-op) but it sure beats renting!
