> I can also add that I live in a row house with a basement and a yard
Ah, it's a row house. Ok, earlier you just called it a 'coop apartment' ... my bad for presuming this was actually an apartment. But wait, it's 3 stories, 1200 sq ft? Is that 3 'units' each of them 1200 sq ft (i.e., what I was thinking of as an apartment) or are all three (400 sq ft?) floors yours?
And earlier:
> paying under $600 a month and have less that 4% of annual carrying
> charge increase ...
Ok, so just for the sake of argument let's call that 3.5% (corrections appreciated) and thus over the next 30 years, presuming your carrying charge stays the same at +3.5%/yr, you'll pay a total of $352k or an average of $977/mo ... yes? Just trying to normalize all the variables. FWIW, a $250k mortgage @ 6.25% is about $1550 gross, perhaps a $400 tax savings, so we're getting closer ...
I'm a little curious about Doug's earlier question:
|> Is this a limited equity co-op (i.e., holders can only sell back to
|> the co-op at a price reflecting only inflation plus improvements,
|> regardless of changes in surrounding market prices)?
I looked at your association's website and couldn't figure out what it takes to be a member. You ridicule "the idiot masses" for not going coop, but you sure make it hard to understand what a great deal you have. Did you have to buy in? Is that somehow 'like' a down payment?
> There is only one difference, mine is owned cooperatively rather than
> individually, and by that virtue alone my right to stay in that house
> indefinitely cost me about a third of what it would cost me to buy a
> comparable piece of real estate.
Well, let's hold off on the math until all the variables are revealed. So far we have that you think you're living in a place that mere stupid animals (I believe you called them collectively "WASPs" earlier) would pay $250k for. Let's have the rest of the info.
/jordan