If my group of 14 aspiring homeowners had read this book before we purchased the seven-unit apartment building we turned into a co-op a few years back, we would have saved a lot of time and energy. Going Co-op is a solid, readable, nuts-and-bolts introduction to creating your own housing cooperative: selecting and financing the building; working out the legalities; keeping things democratic; and setting group policies, for example, the crucial issue of buying in and selling out. It includes a sample set of co-op bylaws (very important) and a sample occupancy agreement (even more important). I just wish the co-authors had placed more emphasis on the fact that even the best of contracts don’t hold co-ops together — friendships do.
