Member Ownership Responsibilities
You are responsible for paying your carrying charges and other fees on time. While you are a homeowner in a very real sense you are also a tenant of the cooperative, and all the members of the cooperative depend on everyone meeting their financial obligations to maintain the building. The Board has a fiduciary duty to the membership to enforce penalties up to and including eviction for non-payment of your carrying charges.
Just as any homeowner you are responsible for maintaining your unit in habitable condition. You are also responsible for not causing problems through negligence that might affect your fellow cooperative members such as flooding your bathroom or failing to repair leaks. You must also maintain any appliances such as a refrigerator or stove such that they are acceptable to any future owners of your unit. You should maintain the unit in the same (or better) condition than you received it. Any costs to make the unit marketable are deducted from the sales price when your unit is sold.
Because the building is a cooperative you are also expected to participate in the process of running the building. We encourage everyone to serve on the Board or otherwise contribute to the maintenance and operation of the building. It may sound difficult but one of the best features of living in the cooperative is having a group of neighbors who are all trying to maintain the building as a long term home.
Cooperative Responsibilities
The Cooperative is responsible for the common areas of the buildings, which includes the repairs and maintenance of the interior plumbing, electrical, and safety systems. The HVAC systems in each unit are also maintained by the Cooperative but you are expected to allow access periodically to maintain the portions of the equipment within your unit.
Read about the Cooperative’s permanent financial structure and equity.