Apartments, condos, and co-ops are all buildings that have multiple units, but they are not the same. Waikiki saw its boom in high rise construction in the 1960s; new multi-unit buildings are still being constructed today. This article explains the similarities and differences between these structures in Hawaii. You can watch the Ask Doug! episode on this topic here.
Apartments
- There is one owner; this owner receives the tax bill
- Tenants rent each unit
- Tenants may have access to but do not own any common areas
Condos
- There could be as many different owners as there are units in the building, though some owners may own multiple units
- Each owner receives a tax bill on their unit or units
- Unit owners have ownership of the common areas
Co-ops
- These buildings are incorporated differently. They are set up as a non-profit and people buy a share of the entire building and sign a contract that allows an owner of the share to occupy a unit
- The corporation is collectively owned but owners own a share of stock of the co-op but not the actually unit
- Co-op owners have ownership of common areas
- Day to day living is not much different than a condo; the differences are biggest when you are trying to purchase in a co-op
- In Hawaii, only a few banks will lend on them
- They require a larger down payment, typically 30%
- There may be a board inquiry
- This dates back to the time when if there was a foreclosure, it was on the entire building. In the 1980s, Governor Ariyohsi allowed for individual units to be foreclosed on rather than the whole building; board inquiries remain
- More leeway in who they let in to the co-op
- There is more financial scrutiny and they can discriminate against potential owners of a coop, as long as the discrimination isn’t based on protected classes such as race or gender.
- Real property taxes in Hawaii are lower in most of the coops. One check goes out to the maintenance office and are collected as part of maintenance fee.
We would be happy to answer any property management or real estate sales questions you have. Call us to schedule a private consultation at (808) 593-9826 or email concierge@caronb.com
