Cooperative Homeownership

Cooperative home ownership has several advantages not found in rental and condominium models. Home owners receive the benefits of traditional home ownership, without the burdens of maintaining their home.

Cooperative home ownership has an extensive history in the United States. The nation’s first housing cooperative was created in New York City in the late 1800’s. Today, there are over 1,500,000 homes in cooperative housing communities throughout the United States. Because of its unique qualities and benefits, it has become a popular form of ownership for many retirement communities.

The main distinction between cooperative home ownership and other forms of home ownership is that in a housing co-op, home owners do not directly own real estate. Instead, they purchase a share in the housing cooperative corporation that owns and operates the homes and community. The corporation leases all real estate on a long-term basis from the owner of the land. Home owners are invited to participate in the management of the community and are represented by a co-op board of directors that help make decisions that shape the community.

Home owners receive benefits from any appreciation in home value and may deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes.

A low maintenance lifestyle allows home owners to spend less time worrying about taking care of their home and more time enriching their lives. All exterior maintenance of the home and grounds are performed by management and costs are shared by the cooperative.

This includes:

• Routine scheduled lawn care and co-op approved landscaping
• Snow removal, including shoveling to the door
• Scheduled exterior home maintenance
• Smoke, fire, low temperature sensors monitored by Cunningham Security
• Annual scheduled inspections of security, fire and sprinkler systems
• Routine maintenance of lawn sprinkler system
• Property, Casualty, and Liability Insurance

Click here for a printer friendly chart outlining our range of fees for our cooperative home ownership lifestyle choices.

Please contact us today to discover if cooperative home ownership at The Highlands is right for you.