What Is A Housing Cooperative?
Vernon House (VH) is a limited equity co-operative apartment building or co-op, which means there is no landlord. The members own and operate the building, but do not own individual units. We collectively establish a budget annually and live within it.
Because we have no profit motive, our monthly "carrying charges" (we don't call it rent) are lower than that of the costs in comparable buildings in the neighborhood.
If you are selected to be a member, you do not need a large down payment to join the co-op--just a "buyin", which is about 2 months carrying changes, and first months' carrying charges. In other words, about 3 months worth of monthly payments.
VH is a purposely diverse community. The goal here is to live and grow in community and maintain a comfortable, well-functioning property.
Members participate in a points system that involves work projects, meetings attendance and other community building activities.
A real estate management company handles day-to-day operational matters such as hiring service contractors, paying fuel bills etc.
