In America (I'm from the UK)Can you really be evicted from the (I assume) multi million dollar apartment you OWN just on the random hands up vote of a tiny sub section of other people in your building? How can that possibly be?
and if yes, what happens? you still own it but can't live there?
Posted Jan 28, 2022, 9:03 AM UTC
It’s not that simple, the voting is only the first step. That’s why Bunny couldn’t kick them out at the end, she no longer had the support of enough people to follow through with legal action.
There's a bit of suspension of disbelief that needs to be had, here. I said the same thing to myself when I saw that scene.
Unless it's a condo you don't own apartments in America
I know this is a month old but this is a personal pet peeve -- apartments are the thing you own/rent/live in; condominium is a form of ownership.
You can own apartments that are not condos (like a co-op, as in this show, or you could own the building and live in one of the units). You can own a condo that is a free-standing house (in an HOA with shared facilities).
"This is an apartment," "No, it's a condo," is like saying "This is a square," "No, it's blue."
Where I live and grew up nobody can own an apartment. They can own condos and fix them up. Apartments have landlord's and strict rules on what you can and cannot have in a dwelling.
What’s the difference?
Condos you own and fix up in any way you want like tearing down walls and getting to use nails when you put up a picture. Apartments you rent and have limitations on what you can do with your space. You're at the mercy of your landlord with what you can or cannot do.
When you live in a co-op, you don’t own your unit, you own shares in the property. You become apart of a corporation that owns the building. A lease allows you to live in your unit as a tenant. Because it’s a corporation, there is an elected board of directors. The board can file a non-payment motion in court, and a judge will decide whether you will be evicted or not. I hope I explained this well, if not, look up “co-op real estate”.
so if I understand you, you can be evicted but its a lot more of a legal process than a hands up vote in the lobby? I assume you'd still legally own the shares and could rent or sell the property to someone else?
Yes; the board does vote first, but it then has to go through court. If you’re evicted, you also get kicked out of the company. They will deduct what you owe out of your equity, +court fees, taxes, etc., and give you the remainder (usually, but your lease terms could say otherwise). That’s if you own it outright of course, if you have a loan from a bank, you may not see a dime.
You can’t rent your unit or sell your shares after you’re evicted. Also, the board has to approve anyone who wants to rent/purchase.
thanks for the info! :)
This feels like a really bad deal.
I mean, sure, following the rules isn’t that hard, but then again there can be some ass backwards rules too right?
I'm buying into one in Chicago and you really have to have an open mind ahead of time because rules have to be followed and restoration costs will just pop up. New roof, windows,etc. even new elevators. A person has to have quite a bit put aside for building repairs with a 1900 vintage building. Basically it can be a bad deal for a lot of people.