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How dd I acquire equity? As with any mortgage, once you begin to pay down your share loan, and as the market value of your cooperative interest increases, you build home equity. What's the difference between owning a co-op and owningy#'. a condo? A cooperative member owns a cooperative interest (an ownership interest in the cooperative corporation and its property as a whole plus the exclusive right to occupy a particular dwelling unit). Co-ops usually assist members to find perspective purchasers, and no real estate transaction fees are involved. A condominium owner owns fee title to a dwelling unit plus an undivided interest in the common property of the condominium development (the land and the buildings themselves). Owners must find their own buyer and the sale is a real estate transaction. How can low-income families afford owning a co-op? The difference appears over time. Cooperative ownership takes people out of ... the rental market at what can be the same or slightly lower monthly cost. Thereafter, co-op owners are largely insulated from escalating costs and will reap ' the benefits of their rising incomes.Where social investment is available— through home-purchase assistance, project-based section 8, or in some other form —cooperative ownership can readily be made available to even very low- . - income families. Why is being a cooperative member better than renting? Lower Monthly Costs: Because cooperatives operate at cost, co-op carrying charges are often 15-25 percent or more below rental market value. Tax Deductions: For income tax purposes, co-op members are considered homeowners and can deduct their share of the real estate taxes and mortgage interest paid by the cooperative. r Home Equity: Co-ops provide for accumulation of individual member equity. " q; Limited Liability: Cooperative member/owners have no personal liability and ` need not individually qualify on the co-op blanket mortgage. The cooperative A corporation is responsible for paying off any blanket loans. This often makes it possible for persons whose income might not qualify them for an individual mortgage to buy a membership in at least a limited equity co-op. Overall Savings: Co-op members benefit from economies of scale in co-op operating costs as well as from not-for-profit operation. Bulk purchasing of major building improvements provide substantial savings on a per-member basis. Ina low-income setting,the spreading of costs among co-op members cushions the economic shock of emergency repairs that so often leads to mortgage delinquency and foreclosure for single-family homeowners. Community Building: Cooperatives provide homes for members and build a community for the co-op as a whole. Security: Tenure is secure, within the guidelines of the law, co-op bylaws and occupancy agreements. What do most housing cooperatives look like? ,; Housing cooperatives can be high-rise apartment buildings, garden-style apartments, townhouses, single-family homes, and senior housing. There are other kinds of housing cooperatives like manufactured home park cooperatives wherein the cooperatives usually own the land, utilities, and community facilities while their members own the individual "manufactured homes."