Cooperatives in Spain are growing every year. This is demonstrated by the latest data published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy. There are currently more than 1,600 cooperatives in our country. Of these, more than 240 are in the construction and housing sector.
But why is it the solution to buy your first home? What are the benefits?
The real estate sector has increasingly higher prices. The annual value of a property has risen by more than 3.4% compared to 2021. Now, the traditional way is not the only way to buy a property. This is where cooperatives come into play.
Is the solution for your first home
Nowadays, we keep reading about the difficulties people face when it comes to owning a first home. Accessing housing in our country is an arduous and expensive task, especially for them. Many are forced to continue living in family homes, share flats or opt for rented accommodation.
A housing cooperative is an association of people who have common interests and objectives: to buy a house by saving up to 20% on the land and to get a house in the best possible conditions.
Don’t look for a friend to kill the hours; look for a friend to build your new home
However, in order to constitute a cooperative, in the case that it is governed by regional laws, housing cooperative societies must be made up of at least three members, friends or family.
It could be said that the fundamental pillars underpinning a housing cooperative are: transparency, quality and democracy.
HOUSING COOPERATIVE MODELS
Today, various types of housing cooperatives can be formed. Their classification depends on their purpose. Thus, we find:
- Cooperatives that build housing to allocate to members for ownership and then dissolve.
- Cooperatives that retain ownership of the housing they build and give it for use or rent to their members.
- Cooperatives that manage public rental housing.
- Self-build cooperatives.
- Cooperatives to rehabilitate housing.
- Housing construction credit cooperatives.
- Cooperatives that build or manage homes for young people and the elderly.
- Cooperatives providing services in housing estates.
ADVANTAGES OF HOUSING COOPERATIVES
When organising a cooperative, there are certain factors that make it worthwhile to set up a cooperative.
- The final price of the property will be around 20-30% lower than the market price. This is because there is no developer.
- The costs involved in the purchase of a property are also lower: notary, registry…
- Lower taxes. A cooperative is exempt from paying Stamp Duty and VAT on the purchase of the land.
- A practically tailor-made construction. A cooperative will be able to personalise the home to a considerable extent: design, materials…
- Possibility of regret. If things go wrong and you decide not to buy the house, there is the possibility of cancelling your membership and recovering the money you have paid in. However, the cancellation must be justified, otherwise you would lose 5% of your contribution.
- The process is totally transparent.
to be taken into account:
However, the disadvantages of setting up a cooperative must also be taken into account:
- The final price of the house is not fixed. When setting up the cooperative, a small margin of 2% must be taken into account.
- Setting up a cooperative involves a large initial outlay.
- Beware of scams. It is necessary to check that the cooperative is registered in the Register of Cooperatives of the Autonomous Community.
- In the first years of operation, it will be difficult to obtain credit from banks and institutions.
