A housing cooperative is a different style of living than an individual house, condominium or apartment. In a cooperative, you own a share in the entire building.

Realife Cooperative of Phalen Village is an independent, not-for-profit corporation. The corporation owns the property, land, each dwelling unit and all common areas. You, along with the other owner-members, are the corporation. You own the entire facility.

Although you do not “own” your unit, as you would for a house, as a shareholder in the corporation, you have the exclusive right to occupy it.

Because the Cooperative owns your unit, the Cooperative is responsible for repairing and replacing appliances, flooring and paint according to a specified schedule. The Cooperative also pays the bulk of the mortgage on your unit.

Realife Cooperative of Phalen Village is a limited equity housing cooperative. When you buy into RLPV you do not pay the market value of the unit you choose to occupy. You pay a specified, “limited” amount of the unit’s market value and the Cooperative holds a mortgage for the remainder. Each year your unit will increase in value by a pre-set amount. When you leave, you will be entitled to that annually increased amount (less any charges to repair your unit).

You must meet the age requirement of 62 or older. You must pay the shareholder price, i.e., the unit’s limited equity, in full and you must meet minimum annual financial requirements. And, of course, you must want to live a coperative lifestyle.

We ask you to participate in some manner in the governance and operation of the Cooperative.

Minimally, you attend the annual shareholders meeting and help make careful choices in electing the Board of Directors. These are the people you authorize to make the most formal decisions regarding the Cooperative. We also have committees to become a member of and learn more about the operations of the Cooperative. Plus there are many social activities that benefit from your participation — casseroles for our potluck suppers, perhaps. Members also help with operational tasks. This helps keep our costs down. For example, you may decide to deliver newspapers from the front door to the individual units on your floor.

The benefits of living in a Cooperative are many.

Few Bills: most of the bills you paid if living in an individual house are paid by the Cooperative from your monthly fee. This includes:

• Mortgage principal, interest and insurance premium
• Real estate taxes (although the Cooperative pays directly, you can claim the federal income tax deduction!)
• Natural gas heat
• Water, sewer
• Trash collection
• TV, Internet and local telephone (from a $65 required monthly fee)
• Insurance including fire and liability (not personal belongings)
• Onsite staff who manage administration, maintenance and housekeeping of common areas.

You pay your electric and cell phone bills and any long distance charges on your Cooperative-provided landline connection.

A Say in What Happens: The community elects the Board of Directors; they oversee the operations of the Cooperative. Members also participate on committees, such as Property, Finance, Social Activities and Health & Safety.

Social Connectivity: RLPV has many social activities. Some are weekly like Men’s Coffee on Monday morning and group coffee and pastries on Thursday morning or card and table games several evenings in the Library. We have 2/weekly Bingo and Crafts, Coffee and Conversation on Saturday afternoon. We have 3/week exercise classes in the Great Room and an educational class based on Great Courses.

Periodically we have potluck or catered brunches or dinners, Movie Night and a monthly Book Club. Members determine the activities they want and help make them happen.

Plus Individual or Small Group Common Areas: A Wellness Room with exercise equipment, Library, Study, Craft Room and Woodworking Shop are available for individuals or small groups.

The Fireside Room is an enticing spot for reading or small gatherings. The Private Dining Room and Great Room are available to reserve at no cost for your family get togethers. There are two Guest Rooms available for use by your family or friends for a reasonable nightly fee.

One of the big differences is that you are not responsible for basic repair and maintenance of your unit. The Cooperative purchases and maintains your appliances, flooring or paint — unless you have damaged these items. The Cooperative’s Property Committee has set standards for those items along with upgrades which you choose and for which you pay the difference. There is also an exception process which has been occasionally desired by a member.

Oftentimes, in a condo, even with an association that governs various operations and rules, it is is difficult to feel a community spirit. Group activities are few or nonexistent. In a Cooperative, owner-members collectively own the entire space and set the rules. RLPV is known for its comraderie among members and friendliness to visitors. This is just one ingredient that might make Realife Cooperative of Phalen Village the place for you!