I'm 23 years old, graduated from Temple last year, employed as a Software Developer at a company in Chester. I'm looking to move back to Philly, preferably someplace close to 95. I'm on the border of whether I should live at home a little longer to save up to buy, or look to rent this summer. One of the places I've been looking is the Fairmount/Northern Liberties location. I've come across a few listings on Craigslist for the "FRIENDS HOUSING COOPERATIVE (FHC)". Does anyone else know anything about this? I looked at their website but I still don't fully understand. It almost seems to good to be true...1 BR apartments for $4000? (with a monthly carrying charge). Would this be a good option for someone in my position? I don't even want to bother looking into it if it's some sort of scam...thanks for the responses in advance.

here is how this works... it a co-op. You pay into the org to belong $4000K and then you pay $700 a month as a carrying charge. You buy into the co-op with your $4k. then you basically pay rent to the co-op (carrying charge). the co-op is subject to regulations that a peice of real estate isn't. It has the pit-falls of condo-associations like bad financial management etc.

In short you are gonna pay $4K for the right to live there... but you don't own the property... the co-op does. you can sell the right to live there later... but then you have to find a buyer and explain to them what a co-op is. banks don't like co-ops b/c you don't own tangible asset. It looks like you are paying market rate rent for the right to live somewhere.

If the $700 is fixed and doesn't go up... then it might be a great investment with a long time horizon. But I don't know if it does. If you are looking to buy property... this isn't it. I'd stay at home - enjoy the food- save some money and have a nice downpayment at a later date.

from how stuff works:

"
Cooperative
The main difference between condominiums and cooperatives lies in the specifics of ownership: if you own a co-op, you do not own the unit itself. Instead, you own a share in the cooperative corporation. This share gives you sole right to your living space, but it does not give you ownership of it. For this reason, your real estate taxes may be covered by your co-op membership, because the building is taxed as a whole. Co-op members pay a monthly fee to the corporation, which, like the condo association, maintains the building and all shared spaces and handles daily management tasks. A co-op is generally stricter about screening prospective buyers and has more say in the handling of your own unit. Also, a co-op may be more difficult to finance than a condominium, because co-op corporations may only deal with certain banks. "

so you are paying $700 a month for shared spaces and maybe taxes. Seems like a lot.

Gorilla, are you sure about that $700 charge? It actually looks like FHC is a pretty cool place, established in the 1950s by the Friends Service Committee as an option for good housing in a low-income neighborhood. I wouldn't be so quick to put down all condo associations as scams. Here's a thread on another part of Phillyblog about it:
http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/fishtown-northern-liberties-kensington/8738-friends-housing-cooperative.html

The red flag on a co-op is that you don't own the space

A friend of mine in New York got a co-op. She had to get approval and make a presentation to the board when she wanted to paint he living room. Then she had to have it done professional, not by herself.

SO you live in a space you can not modify or change in any way.
Things you could do in an apartment are not allowed in a condo.

You are also responsible for others. That is why they are so picky about people coming in. Suzie leaves the curling iron on and burns down part of the place. It's every one's place and you are paying to get it fixed.

One of the worst experiences I ever heard about was a 1900's 8 story co - op that some people decided they wanted to put a pool on the top.

__________________

You'll need a very large person banging into your abdomen repeatedly to obtain such numbness, which is connected to your inner thigh region

Yes, they may be more annoying than regular condos, since the coop board gets to make all the decisions, but then you can run for the coop board. And most people who own in NY own in a coop (including most of my friends); I haven't heard anything about millions of buyers in NY rebelling and deciding not to buy in a coop. It's just not a common thing in Philly, so people are quick to criticize it.

I've looked into the co-ops at FHC about a year ago. Out of the ones I looked at no two were the same and the area was nice and quiet. They compared living at their co-op to the condos right across the street, as better living. I even met some of the shareholders at FHC. From what I learned at my meeting with a couple of the board members at FHC everyone looks out for each other and if you wanted to make changes to your unit, you would need to go before the board and the board would approve or deny you. FHC is very selective in choosing residents to join their co-op. The reason I chose not to buy into the co-op was because I didn't want everyone in my business and most of the residents were older and had lived there for many years.

My suggestion, save your money for something you can truly call your own.

from the source...

http://friendshousingcooperative.com...ableunits.aspx

that is where I got the $700.

Again... if it fixed and if the carrying cost doesn't don't go up after 3 years you are probably saving yourself some cash.

... and if you carrying cost includes taxes

The vast number of co-ops are located in NYC. I got a real laugh when the real estate "mavens" who posted on this site told people to save their money to buy a house. (I bet the mavens are RE agents, the 5K would be their commision.) If you have 5k, why wouldn't you invest in a co-op instead of paying rent?

Bad experiences with co-ops? I lived in one in Queens NYC and doubled my money in 6 years. No real problems. If I would have listened to these real estate mavens I would be a lot poorer.