Wednesday, May 21, 2014

How Can I Tell Whats What. Condominiums, Timeshares, Coops

By Arthur Richards


Whether you currently own or a rent your home you need to consider the number of different options that exist before you make your next move. Deciding on the type of ownership that you are interested in is not always a clean cut decision. You need to understand the different forms of ownership that exist and how they affect you as a potential homeowner. Let's look at some of these options.

A condominium or a condo is a type of real property or housing tenure where only a specific portion of a real estate property is owned by an individual. They offer many of the amenities that are commonly associated with home ownership, except that the piece of property is jointly owned by a group of owners who has the right to make decisions on how tenants can use various parts of the property.

This means that the access and use of common facilities in the property such as exterior areas, hallways, elevators, heating systems, courtyards and recreation rooms is granted to the individual owners of the condominium, but the board of directors makes sure that all common areas are used with careful discretion and that no damage occurs as a result of regular or improper usage. These rules are outlined in the condo documents. An onsite supervisor may have the duty to keep everything in order, and a maintenance crew is kept ready to attend to emergencies.

A timeshare is another often confused type of ownership. Timeshares are essentially ownership or rights to use a particular unit for a predetermined time period. This time period may be weeks or months and is sold to different groups of people that have no relation to one another. The unit isn't owned by you but you have the exclusive right to occupy the unit and use the amenities during certain times of the year.

The arrangement is done on an annual basis, which means that the owners can visit the piece of property every year around the same period of time, i.e. during the summer or the winter months. The timeshare ownership period is typically one week. However, arrangements for multiple visitations can also be done in advance. Timeshares usually provide owners with far more facilities than conventional lodging can. Typical timeshares include at least two bedrooms, two bathrooms, along with living rooms, kitchen, and dining areas. By investing one time, one can save on future vacation costs.

Lastly we will look at cooperatives. Cooperatives are often referred to as co-ops. Coops are essentially corporations that own a larger building. The covenants and requirements to purchase within a coop are often far more stringent as you are purchasing into a company and joining other people in a company. Owners of the current co-op have more stay and often ask for detailed information about your personal finances and information.

When purchasing in a cooperative you are purchasing shares of ownership in a company that then entitles you to use a portion of the building or unit. You are almost always the exclusive occupant of the space for which you are purchasing but rather than purchasing the real estate, you are purchasing shares that entitle you to occupy that space. Cooperatives are bound by rules of the corporation which are not public record and are often kept secretive.




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