Sunday, November 7, 2010

Condominium vs. Co-op vs. Co-ownership

I found a link that purports to explain the differences between the three types of units in Toronto; condos, co-ops, and co-ownerships. I've taken the following list without permission from: http://sites.google.com/site/torontocoownership/home

Understanding the Difference Co-Ownership vs. Condos vs. Co-Ops
Condominium:
  • Each suite is a separate piece of real estate which can be bought, sold and traded in the market
  • In addition to owning the unit the buyer will own proportionate shares of the common areas of the property
  • Condos can be mortgaged
Co-Ownership:
  • There is only one piece of real estate and each buyer is registered on title to the property
  • All buyers own a proportionate share of the entire property and are given the exclusive rights to occupy one of the units in the building
  • These shares of ownership can be bought, sold and mortgaged. With condos and co-ownerships (but not with co-ops) you can mortgage your interest in the property without causing liability to the other unit owners and without getting consent from the property's Board of Directors.
  • Although most banks will not finance co-ownership properties there are a number of credit unions and HSBC will finance a co-ownership purchase.
Co-Op:
  • The property is owned by a corporation and not by the residents
  • The buyer owns shares in this corporation and has the right to occupy a specific unit within the property
  • Buyers are not registered on title to the property
  • These shares can be bought, sold and traded
  • Shares can be mortgaged but not the property itself.
  • Although most banks will not finance co-ops there are a number of credit unions and other financial institutions that will.
(The image is from a real estate listing - it's the building at 35 Raglan Avenue, a co-ownership building).

1 comment:

  1. I have wondered about this for a long time!
    As I was shopping for RE I came upon a number of what I now understand to be Co-Ownership buildings and couldn't understand why they were so much less expensive than Condos.
    I did a bit of digging, but couldn't find a satisfactory answer. Glad that the Serial Enthusiast had a bit more dig in 'er than I did.

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