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Should I Buy A Condo, Coop, Or Timeshare

By Carol Burndoff


Ownership of units within a large building come in many different shapes and sizes. You can own or rent but making the decision is sometimes not the easiest thing to do. Understanding the different types of ownership is crucial in making the right decision for you. Let's look at some of the most common types of ownership.

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.

The condominium often also offers common areas and amenities. These areas are referred to as Limited Common Elements and how they are used and accessed is generally outlined in the condominium documents. condo documents are enforced by management companies who are employed by the condo who pays them fees or by officers of the condominium. People are elected to serve the condominium on behalf of the unit owners.

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.

Most often timeshares are sold in week long periods and are located in vacation destinations. Families looking to vacation in resorts or ski or beach areas often find a timeshare as a nice option. They don't have the nuisance of maintaining the property and upkeep but have the benefits of using the property during their time of the year. Additionally timeshare properties often have more amenities than regular condominiums like pools and spas and parks and other amenities.

The last type of ownership we will look at is the Co-op. Co-op is short for Cooperative. Co-ops are found in older cities and densely populated areas. New York City is predominantly Co-op properties. The Co-op form of ownership elsewhere in the country is not as popular as the requirements to own and the process of purchasing can be grueling. You must subject yourself to quite a thorough audit of your personal finances and personal information when being considered to live in a Co-op.

By purchasing a co-op, a person is actually buying into an LLC or a limited liability corporation that holds the ownership of the building. It imposes certain restrictions on the people living in it. For example, one cannot illegally rent the apartment out or invite too many occupants. The apartments within a co-op are bounded by the laws established by the board of the corporation, who has the final say in all ownership matters pertaining they follow the state law appropriately.




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