Cooperative Housing in North America

In Singapore, we are familiar with the condominium type of ownership. Each owner has the ownership of a specific unit in the condominium and contributes towards the common upkeep of the condominium.

This type of property ownership is also popular in many countries, including North America.

There is a slightly different kind of ownership found in Canada and a few states in USA, especially New York. It is called cooperative housing. Each owner owns a share of the entire project, and has the right to live in a unit. The owner does not own the specific residential unit.

There are some advantages in this type of ownership:

1. The ownership of the cooperative is similar to equity. It can be transferred more easily, without the high cost associated with a property.
2. The management corporation has more control over the upkeep of the cooperative housing.
3. It helps to strengthen the community bond among the residents of the housing project.

I hope that this new type of ownership can be made available in Singapore.

More about cooperative housing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative