conclusions
Buying a home is a responsible and important matter. When for some reason you do not have enough personal funds to cover the full cost of the property, you can take advantage of membership in housing cooperatives. Its essence is the opportunity to purchase an apartment in installments. This type of association is regulated by Russian legislation. When choosing a cooperative, you need to pay attention to its reliability, reviews and financial statements - in this case, the risks will be minimal. If you have any questions, please contact the specialists of the Academy of Sciences “Transfer” for advice!
The meaning of a housing cooperative
From a legislative point of view, there are two documents regulating the activities of cooperatives - the Housing Code (Section V, Articles 110-134) and Federal Law No. 215-FZ dated December 30, 2004, as amended on June 27, 2019. Their definitions vary somewhat, but the essence remains the same - uniting people on a voluntary basis with the aim of providing cooperative members with residential real estate. It is a non-profit organization, that is, it does not have the goal of making a profit.
A housing cooperative is an opportunity to purchase an apartment in installments without paying banks millions in interest. Fees are paid for membership in the community, which are used to purchase housing for its representatives in the order of approved priority. The total amount of contributions is exactly the cost of the property, allowing you to become the owner of the living space without extra charges.
To become a member of a housing cooperative, you need to choose a suitable one, check the eligibility of its work and submit an application to the chairman of the board. Residents' consent will be required for a new member to join. A candidate for membership can be either a legal entity or an individual. In the latter case, his age should not be less than 16 years; the application is confirmed by the parents or other legal representative.
The main differences between a housing cooperative and a mortgage
The most popular competitor of housing associations is the purchase of real estate with a mortgage. For a real estate buyer, the situation is as follows: there is a certain amount for the down payment, which is not enough to purchase real estate. A mortgage is a loan of the required balance at a fairly high interest rate. As a result, it turns out that the amount of overpayments sometimes reaches the original cost of the apartment. Purchasing through a housing cooperative is an installment plan, that is, the cooperative does not make money on the debt of the shareholder.
With a mortgage, there are other significant disadvantages for many - this is the presence of an official job with a “white” salary, which will convince the bank of the client’s solvency. The second point is various mandatory insurances, without which the loan will either not be given or the interest rate on it will be increased. The minimum set is life insurance of the borrower and the real estate itself.
Purchasing through a housing cooperative also has disadvantages compared to a mortgage - there are not many associations in the country, and in fact, most such organizations often go bankrupt. And the second point is that with a mortgage, the borrower immediately becomes the owner of the home, and as a member of the cooperative, only after paying the full cost.
Rights and obligations of cooperative members
To join the cooperative, you need to submit an application showing a person’s identity card - a passport. It is possible that representatives of the cooperative will additionally ask for an INN or work book to confirm the solvency of a potential shareholder. The applicant gets acquainted with the local regulations of the Housing Code, in particular the charter, which spells out all the rights and obligations of the members of the association.
A new participant in a housing cooperative is vested with the rights (Article 7 of Federal Law-215):
- take part in the activities of the association and serve on the board;
- participate in the disposal of the cooperative’s property;
- receive real estate owned by the cooperative on a right of use;
- enjoy benefits provided by law or local regulations;
- manage the income of the cooperative, if any;
- receive complete information about the activities of the cooperative;
- with the consent of the association, dispose of property (will, donation, exchange);
- return the paid share upon leaving the cooperative (does not apply to membership fees);
- after paying the full cost, transfer the received property into personal ownership;
- demand from the cooperative the quality of housing received within the framework of contributions;
- protect your rights and interests in court.
The standard responsibilities of a potential shareholder are as follows:
- comply with legal requirements and internal documentation;
- transfer shares and membership fees on time;
- participate in cooperative activities and meetings;
- not create obstacles to the work of the cooperative and its participants;
- bear the risks of losses within the accumulated share as a result of the activities of the cooperative.
Registration of legal entities
Having collected all the documents necessary for registration, the authorized person submits them to the tax authority. In practice, this is the responsibility of the chairman of the board of the housing construction cooperative. When submitting papers, he must receive a corresponding receipt. It indicates a list of documents received by the registration authority.
State registration takes no more than 5 working days. During this period, the tax authority is obliged to check all submitted documents for their authenticity. This takes into account not only their content, but also the form in which they were created. Everything must comply with the law. The authorized official of the tax authority is obliged to draw up an appropriate conclusion based on this audit.
Based on this conclusion, a decision is made on state registration of the housing construction cooperative.
Then a corresponding entry is made in the state register. The new organization is assigned a number in the registration journal. In addition, on the first page of the charter an inscription with the details of the legal entity is affixed using a stamp, which is confirmed by the personal signature of the official registering the organization.
After this, a registration certificate is prepared, which is issued within 24 hours from the moment information about the housing cooperative is entered into the state register. This certificate must be issued in accordance with legal requirements. That is, it was created according to a single model and on a form established by law.
But registration of a legal entity may be refused. Most often this is due to the following reasons:
- lack of documents necessary for registration;
- submitting documents to the wrong government agency;
- other reasons specified in regulations.
The inexpediency of creating a legal entity cannot be the reason for refusing its registration. The decision to refuse must also be prepared no later than 5 days after submitting the documents, and contain the reasons for this decision.
