Monday, May 26, 2014

Buying A Home What Should You Purchase

By Robert Winterton


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 is one type of ownership where you live generally in a larger building with multiple people. You are essentially owning a portion of a larger building and having access to most of the amenities that you would expect in your home. The group of people you live with all jointly decide on the rules that govern this arrangement.

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.

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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