A co-op is not renting. It’s basically a building with condos/apartments that has a built in HOA. If the roof needs repaired every apartment needs to chip in for the sudden payment if the co-op isn’t properly saving for those capital expenditures.
There are a great variety of co-ops. If you define renting narrowly enough, then they are of course different. But the point is that for some (and the co-ops I’ve seen personally) you don’t have to make a down payment for a mortgage like you do with a condo or house. You instead pay a monthly fee that covers the co-op’s mortgage/repairs/taxes. Or if the place is fully owned by the co-op, then just the repairs/taxes.
But you retain the flexibility of renting in that you can leave reasonably easily since you’re not personally responsible for the mortgage.
I think there are also co-ops (possibly more commonly) where it’s essentially just a condo where the building is collectively owned by the tenants instead of a for profit company. In that case, it’s much less like renting.
How do you rent if there are no landlords? Someone has to own the property and rent it out, aka a landlord.
The other option is a housing coop. Where you still rent, but it’s owned by all the renters collectively.
A co-op is not renting. It’s basically a building with condos/apartments that has a built in HOA. If the roof needs repaired every apartment needs to chip in for the sudden payment if the co-op isn’t properly saving for those capital expenditures.
There are a great variety of co-ops. If you define renting narrowly enough, then they are of course different. But the point is that for some (and the co-ops I’ve seen personally) you don’t have to make a down payment for a mortgage like you do with a condo or house. You instead pay a monthly fee that covers the co-op’s mortgage/repairs/taxes. Or if the place is fully owned by the co-op, then just the repairs/taxes.
But you retain the flexibility of renting in that you can leave reasonably easily since you’re not personally responsible for the mortgage.
I think there are also co-ops (possibly more commonly) where it’s essentially just a condo where the building is collectively owned by the tenants instead of a for profit company. In that case, it’s much less like renting.