Introduction To Housing Co-ops

[@sword_of_damocle5]

O Lord Algorithmus, please give this man the recognition that he deserves.

[@Catthepunk]

Amen and amen🙏🏽🧘🏾‍♂️

[@zanderhenriksen6776]

Let's all pray! All hail the algorithm through interaction! 🙏

[@Sink9K]

Fr

[@AdeleMcAlear]

I just came across this after searching "how does coop housing work" fully expecting to find something from another country or province. Imagine my delight in finding such a great resource in my own city! Great job!

[@PaigeMTL]

Well I mean, we do have a lot of housing co-ops ;) The international org for housing co-ops is run out of Ottawa BTW.

[@logans3365]

Here in America I’m pretty sure I’m being tailed by the FBI under suspect of communism just for looking into co-ops lol I mean HAIL CAPITALISM!

[@Mavkka]

@@logans3365 lol RIGHT?! In the US I feel like the landlords and real estate agents would start a full-scale war for suggesting profiting off people's need for shelter was called into moral question. Anyways, this video is fantastic and answers so many niche questions I had-thanks Paige!

[@logans3365]

@@Mavkka they already have started a war, only our side isn’t fighting

[@angelaburress8586]

@@Mavkka Whose going to pay for this

[@socostreams2822]

5k views for this content is CRIMINAL great work man. hope your ventures bear fruit and hope to stay updated through this channel

[@brookekubby6629]

This is genius. My partner co-founded a foraging co-op and has introduced me to a lot of concepts and ideals around that model. I started wondering if the same principles could be applied to housing. This video has very cool history about the labor movement and what not, and thanks also for the breakdown of pros/cons/issues/solutions. This video is really well done. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and affordable housing is a major issue here (many college students, like myself, live in small cabins with no running water). Would love to get the ball rolling on a housing co-op. Might take a while because this city needs more physical buildings to meet housing demands, not just buying out old apartment complexes.

[@GFmanaic]

Tens of people ? Wrong ! There are dozens of us ! DOZENS !

[@PaigeMTL]

*dozen

[@alanrudolf]

@@PaigeMTL I laughed so hard when that came up, nice one.

[@billcday]

Just found this channel. Love it.

[@GregorySpikeMD]

Very clear, nuanced and witty explanation, loved it!

[@RobotTed]

Very eye opening vid. Thank you for making this!

[@hagfish_]

Can't wait to see your co-op vids! Will be fascinating.

[@emg.721]

I want to start a coop but I'm so overwhelmed. I'm just a lowly line cook. But the idea of living affordably in a community with people from all different socio-economic backgrounds seems like such a great idea. I wish co-ops where more popular then the stupid rat race of the real estate world.

[@distortiontildeafness]

I was in montreal and atayed at a friends house that was a coop.. it was really great

[@theexpertoutsider690]

EEUUUH. This is the greatest discovery ive made in a long time. MAJOR PROPS

[@pezpeculiar9557]

Thanks for highlighting this! Democratic control of housing is so important, always but especially now.

[@kimberlysadovich]

Thank you very much for this (funny and informative) video! I'm looking into a housing co-op, and this was a great breakdown of how the system works!

[@ersandy4u]

I’ll share your channel with at least 10 Montrealers for them to follow.

[@takif8756]

One of the nicest informative videos I ever watched 🙂

[@ToVBD]

Damn I love that youtube channel. Great topics.

[@osterguy86]

Excellent video again Paige. As someone mentioned already, your B-roll is outstanding, and helps solidify your points well. As you know, I have been looking into this for a little while now (along with my parents and a few other couples), and am happy to see the benefits and limitations laid out so well. I think you glossed over the most important point of the cooperative movement: democracy. You mentioned it twice, but the idea of local, direct democracy practiced by everyday people helps build capacity for democracy at scale. This is not exclusive to housing, but the principle of 1 member = 1 vote can help confront injustice in several arenas. I thought your point about coops reducing the housing bubble to better capitalize our industries slightly counter-intuitive. Unless of course, those 2 Trillion are pumped into cooperative businesses! One limitation I see is access to land. I understand there is funding available for start up and pre-construction costs, but the land where a coop will be built exists in the housing market, and the costs for removing it from speculation can be daunting; espceially for the small groups you are suggesting. While risk is inherent in any great change, I can tell you it puts a damper on enthusiasm while trying to juggle your normal household budget, work, kids, school, liesure, etc. Keep up the great work.

[@PaigeMTL]

Thanks Alex. You may be the only person whose ever asked me to talk MORE about democracy. Yes, I very much see democracy as a thing that a society learns and gets better at. Figuring out processes that allow a diverse group of people to achieve something on a local level, feeds into the same thing at a national level. I have no overarching economic ideology which seems to weird some people out, but I don't see co-ops from here to the moon. I think they're an important part of a better society, but I also think companies lead by people with a vision excel at different things. Sure I'd like to see Canadian companies able to get funding without having to go to New York. So far I've found there is quite a lot of land in Montreal reserved for co-ops and low income housing thanks to housing mandates. But we've made it very expensive, time consuming and hard to build over the decades. I think as a society we thought that we were slapping regulations, restrictions and long approval processes on these shadowy "property developer" characters. However you know who else is a property developer? Someone building a housing co-op. I visited a co-op the other day that just got built, they formed their co-op in 2011. That's a lot of work over a long time for some idealistic volunteers.

[@dog-ez2nu]

It's socialism in its purest form, putting people directly in charge and in ownership of, their lives - the more we make a society based on the mutually-agreed-upon relationship and building consensus, the more freeing our lives will become.

[@Soykaf_]

really like how you put all your sources in the description!

[@PaigeMTL]

Might as well, I always forget to put them in there

[@cornoc]

@@PaigeMTL really knocking it out of the park paige! keep up the good work!

[@cornoc]

this comes off as sarcasm instead of legitimate praise, but it's actually both!

[@PaigeMTL]

@@cornoc thanks for splitting the comments in two, that way I can like the nice comment, then KZbin's algorithm swoops in there, and then success occurs I assume.

[@anotherslice2269]

yay!

[@cornoc]

8:00 hey there's baby paige. and nice b-roll footage!

[@joepowah]

Man your humour really makes me laugh and is so engaging. (Or I am just super nerdy)

[@bolton_notlob]

Great video, informative and to the point. Thank you!

[@prospector7777]

Almost seems everyone in Powell River BC , has never had a clue. Thanks Paige!

[@danipolidor1959]

Paige - You Rock! Looking forward to learning more! You are right on point.

[@acdnintheusa]

Thanks for posting Paige. I am exploring a new housing product and wondering if a coop model is the route to go. I appreciate your introduction. Insightful. Thanks from a 🇨🇦 in the 🇺🇸 Subbed and now going to your other posts.

[@mandarightnow]

Thanks for making this video!

[@erikbudrow1255]

"Nnnnnyes! You're fu**in' smart!" LMAO

[@TimBeauBennett]

I enjoyed this significantly

[@TimBeauBennett]

WHAT AND THEN A CASTLE REFERENCE WHAT IS THIS I AM NOW SUBBED IMMEDIATELY

[@Paul3117]

I was denied acess to a housing coop despite paying more then the price of the place where I was going to.In Montréal often they take old apartment buildings and turn them into coops and the they renovate them.In my case they had me a place below street level near a big artery.So I did an x on that and went for a brand new affordable housing appartment by the city of Montreal and stayed there 9 years.I love the mix they have 1 third tenants and the rest of the building are condos over 180 units in the heart of Saint Henri I choose it for its convenient location 7 minutes walk from Place Saint Henri metro station and once your admitted the city don't bother checking your actual income so in August that building will be 10 year's old has an underground parking garage with a garbage chute and indoor parking for bicycles and back in 2011 the building cost 30 million dollars to build so it avoids the cheap buildings that coops are stuck with most of the time.....

[@EricLight]

You should make a video about public housing!!

[@Babuwoot]

Very helpful, it's honestly kind of hard to find information about actually starting a housing coop, I'm not from Canada so not all the government policies and regulations, ect. apply for me, but it's great to know there are larger communities out there that believe in this system and it's great to see it working for so many people!

[@PaigeMTL]

It's a fairly similar situation globally, even down to the dynamic with government funding

[@Babuwoot]

Paige Saunders for my country and particular location there are some issues regarding housing regulations that make it a bit more of a challenge but I totally get where your coming from

[@ikechukwuokafor2844]

Great video as always!

[@Toonyy55]

14:18 : the girl has a tots bag with "ça va aller" written on it. Mind Blown.

[@JasonMcCarrell]

This video was posted almost two years ago... how goes the building of a coop? I'd love to do it, but it's so intimidating. Also I actually don't have a lot of freetime; I have less free time than money... but I hate the private market and co-ops sound pretty rad. I have the time to participate in a coop, but i don't have the time to found one... I don't think... I dunno... ugh too many things to do!

[@garethCUK]

Great video.

[@ostione]

Great channel. Where you a friend of Alex? I noticed the scan logo in your channel design

[@francobuscemi4183]

Can you be copte to do an update video on the coop development?

[@haydynfoulke6690]

This video was so helpful, witty, and interesting!! Thank you for making this. Do you know if there’s government funding in the US for co-ops?

[@lifetime805]

From what little I know, in general no there isn't. A co-op is like a slightly worse version of a condo, and because it's worse you get a small discount to buy one. Why are they worse? You have less control over your own life/property. If you want to buy someone's shares, you have to be approved by the rest of the members. If you need to sell and you find a buyer, the board can demand all kinds of info from them and still reject them, so you can get stuck. Because of this, it's also harder to get bank financing to buy. The ones I've seen advertised in San Francisco are usually 2 unit converted houses, or sometimes a 4 unit building. While you can buy in for cheaper than a regular condo, you're still paying 800k or more and likely a higher interest rate to the few banks that will write the loan. And since you often times can't rent out your unit, you can get really screwed since the board can reject potential buyers. In New York City, they are very common but still you can pay millions to buy into the co-op. In summary, it's not a magical solution to get cheap housing unless you just receive tons of government subsidies (which would be true of condos as well). Many co-ops vote to convert to regular condo status, although local governments often ban the practice.

[@pebblepod30]

12:45 That is absolutely hilarious

[@darkfuji196]

Does anyone know how to setup something like this in Australia? Me and my partner have been thinking of setting up a commune with friends. It'd be more than a few years away, but since we're lucky enough to be in high paying jobs, we'd love to be able to support some people with housing.

[@PaigeMTL]

nightingalehousing.org is an interesting Australian project I've heard of. Co-ops are enabled by laws and traditions inherited from the British so you just need to go to a lawyer and set one up. There may be funding in Australia too, but a few wealthy individuals can always choose to add some at/below cost housing for others to their project.

[@mimicotom]

I saw one co-op back in 1980 where the bank pulled out its investment. It went bankrupt and half the residents moved out overnight.

[@erobinson1612]

If only we could do this in Australia

[@emellemassariol3163]

If I understand correctly, a coop is a collective of something (business or housing) that has multiple share holders while being a non for profit. I am currently looking into buying farm land with some friends and basically we are debating on how to make it a coop. If we all live under the same roof (house) but separate that house into mini apartments would that make us eligible for coop ? My goal is NOT to live in a commune 😅

[@PaigeMTL]

You can have a cooperative that aims to make money. A co-op could own a house, or multiple houses. You might just want to have a contact written up with you and your friends though to avoid the co-op overhead.

[@LightPink]

What percentage of housing can be done through co-ops?

[@billcday]

Looking to move to Montreal this year with my family from the US. Is there a way to search for existing coops (since they seem to be blended in with traditional housing stock)?

[@billcday]

Nevermind on second view you answered this in the video

[@PaigeMTL]

Glad it helped, you wouldn't be able to get into one on that short notice but hope you feel like putting down roots and joining one long term.

[@billcday]

Paige Saunders Just looking now there doesn’t seem to be any sort of availability but we wanted to start looking because we are in it for the long-haul.

[@billcday]

We did it! We landed a coop in Montreal starting this Summer! Thanks for the inspiration.

[@acchaladka]

So,it's a year later and I'd like to know the status update - how's your co-op project going? Also, I control a little foundation money and I'm interested in this idea of how to interest the middle class in doing more in greater Montreal especially. How do I best contact you, Paige? Cheers.

[@PaigeMTL]

Checkout the channels about page or on Twitter

[@theavantribe]

If someone leaves or is removed from a coop, does the coop need to buy them out?

[@PaigeMTL]

Yes, but that could be a symbolic $1 or a $1 million

[@theavantribe]

@@PaigeMTL even in cooperatives that they started and and then are removed?

[@PaigeMTL]

It all depends on what rules you write and shares you hold. But yes, I’m sure there are many coops where an original founder got booted out.

[@علي-ش7ث8ب]

Dreamers!

[@gianlucafantini1332]

So if I own 10% of a housing coop and decide to leave for whatever reason do I lose my investment?

[@PaigeMTL]

It totally depends on your co-op. The shareholder agreement can specify almost anything.

[@angelaburress8586]

I’m not into communal living and we’ve tried this before and it failed miserably 👀👀🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️, we’re going backwards in society and it’s scary 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🫠🫠🫠

[@Wololoo88]

Can you tell me more how it failed?

[@titussardonicus338]

Did you just read the title of the video?

[@jzk2020]

What I've learned so far. CO-OPs are is an organization consisting of groups of people. A federation is an organization consisting of a group of companies. CO-OP have a constitution and lots of committees for example a committee to committee committees. And you can have a federation of federation of federations. Is that right, teacher?

[@PaigeMTL]

I don’t know what you’ve learned, only what you’ve heard

[@donalddavis303]

This is good info @beau of the faith colum

[@stype8468]

You are from Canada or Australia or Ireland?

[@ohskynyrdlynyrd]

Yo this is great content wtf

[@rpersaud562]

I watched this whole video waiting for an explanation on how you buy into the co-op but i didn't hear it. So do you buy your shares? How much are they worth? Your percentage of the building? When you leave you don't get to sell them so you lose that cost? Do you pay monthly "rent"?

[@PaigeMTL]

I know what you mean. I watched the whole of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" but never saw a mention of the American nuclear triad. What a terrible movie! Shares in any corporation are worth what a market prices them at, but because housing co-op shares are usually non-transferable (covered in the video) their value is also usually non-transferable. A housing co-op could decide to charge for shares, but they almost never do in Canada because that's not what a housing co-op is. The video talks about monthly rent, membership in the co-op gives you reduced rent.

[@Paul3117]

@@PaigeMTL its probably something like 50$ membership card and a deposit for the appartment keys and your right in a ideal world coops are great but in reality they suck because they're cheap and dont attract the right mix of people to work well

[@SPAMMAN123456789]

Inspirational words from paige "No! Idiot"

[@lenoraaronel8542]

How do I contact you Paige Saunders?

[@PaigeMTL]

twitter.com/SailingOnSound

[@Beauxdimanches]

30 years ago, me and my brother introduced my mama to the concept of a co-op. The building was new. The rent, affordable. Oh, and the socialist part, well, no problem! 🤪 20 years later, I have lived in an artist oriented co-op in the Old Port , my brother became a founding member of one in Griffintown and my ma' still lives in the same co-op. Co-ops are not an easy beast to master and boy, you are spot on in your analysis on the multiple "bébittes" you could encounter. They are a wonderful, and very misunderstood, tool to enable "rent" security and a fair, at the very least, financial treatment. But only with all the participants' involvement can you truly unlock the soothing power of cooperation! 🤪

[@TheShadowBee]

I have so many questions. On the off chance you read this: how did your brother find enough members to start the coop? I think it requires five members. How did he look for them? Were they all friends and family? Also, do you know if some coops are mixed income? I'm only halfway through the video so I might get some answers by watching

[@logans3365]

I’m in Kansas City Missouri, if anyone reading this is around the same area and interested in starting housing CO-OPs then leave a comment and we can get together to exchange ideas.

[@jimcrelm9478]

Comment for algorithm

[@PaigeMTL]

Engagement from creator, like from creator. Pleasure doing social media with you.

[@Whoo711]

Are housing co-ops in much of Canada somehow "way different", or are they similar to, say, the "kinda-shitty" (and very-elitist, at least from what I hear) ones I've heard so much about in cities like New York?? Cuz... tbh, co-ops like the latter, from my preliminary research, don't sound all that "great" (basically, from what I can tell, a weird 'cross' between a standard apartment and "house", whereby you- no joke- have what is essentially 'an apartment', esp. space-wise, but you... GET A MORTGAGE to 'own' that apartment, technically). And new co-op "owners" can't come in unless approved *by* the current members (or, at least, a group of, like, 7 or 8 people in the 'co-op board', I guess?). *And*, if that wasn't bad enough, it seems that there are *very-few* regulations regarding, say, any "limits" on how much paperwork and documentation they have to submit, the stuff they can be asked and have to divulge during the housing interview, etc! Like, supposedly, after the housing interview for a spot in a co-op, they can just deny you *for practically any reason* and NOT HAVE TO TELL YOU WHY! Or so I hear Like... if Canada's housing co-ops are remotely like all that, I dunno... but... if they're actually "cooperative" in a "socialist" or "leftist" sense, then... GREAT! :)

[@GroundUpProduct00]

I thought I saw a hammer and sickle in the default picture 😉

[@jzk2020]

I think I prefer a homeowner's association where the individuals own their homes, but there are still bylaws and proper democratic governance. The land can be owned by the collective though, through a community land trust. I want to form this one day, but first I gotta get my weight up. But thanks for sharing the video, some really good insights and tips that can be transferred to other social organizations.

[@ANTSEMUT1]

Yeah if USA HOA are anything to go by they are terrible with crazy, nosey and paranoid Karens who want to enforce every law how they see fit.

[@regmanzer]

This is a really good point! I'm going to look into HOAs thanks!

[@curtismah1261]

I want to live with Paige

[@thomascharky7031]

LETS START A COOP whos in

[@Truf-teller]

Me

[@regmanzer]

I thought I was interested in starting a housing co-op but now I'm not so certain. Hear me out. The reason being is that I actually like the condo model a little better I think because it seems like there is more ability for uniqueness within a community. Want a community of cookie cutter houses, that could be a co-op. But can a co-op be houses of different shapes, footages, and finishes? What's lost for me seems to be that ability to live in a community but also be able to allow your home to be an expression of your unique tastes and personality. If 2000 sqft works for me with a family of 4, but 1400 sqft works for my childrenless friends, why would they agree to pay the same amount? Would we be able to have different amounts? How would that be calculated? Also the idea that the co-op can vote you out of your home at any time seems like it could create insecurity. Like you said, what happens if you have an unfaithful spouse? Who gets to remain in the co-op and who has to leave? There's got to be a model somewhere in between complete control, and no control. Just looking to see if I have any of my assumptions incorrect. Thanks for the video!

[@My-nl6sg]

there is noting actually preventing variety in co-op housing, you could insist on more varied design, flexible building layouts that can be reconfigured according to need, or have the co-op simply own different types of housing in an area (like a bunch of different town houses) the main problem is really cost: mass produced standardized models are always cheaper. This is also why social housing are often considered boring looking but they fulfil basic needs. Hopefully one day co-op becomes the most common form of housing and no longer just a cheap basic needs solution.

[@diatribe5]

I lived in a co-op with someone and when I read the articles of incorporation and all that explained how the unit was not owned by the occupant, but that they merely owned shares of stock in the co-op, I felt uneasy. I’m in America, so these housing arrangements exist here as well, but to me, it stunk of communism and seemed very un American. I wish that flipping houses wasn’t so popular, because I think it only makes sense to buy a house to live in long-term, have a sense of continuity and community.

[@crassirus]

*cries in murrican*

[@Laughandsong]

Here in Toronto, the type of housing co-ops you describe forbids prospective members to own property if they want to get in.

[@kokoniqueful]

I thought Canadians were nice. You’re likely not a native Canadian smh. Mean

[@camelCase1-f5l]

Hey! Interested in starting one in mtl. Can we chat?