Holding costs
From: Robert Ferre (robert1heart.com)
Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 10:12:54 -0600
Greetings All,

I am part of a new St. Louis cohousing group planning to locate in the
country within an hour from St. Louis. (There are also two urban cohousing
groups in process here.) We have found a spectacular location 50 minutes
from the city, a farm of 131 acres in a self-contained valley with wooded
ridges , a cleared south-facing hill, and two lakes. Also six houses
scattered throughout the property, one being large and suitable in layout
and location for our common house.

This being Missoui, the cost of all of this is "only" $800,000. The question
I am raising regards holding costs and recruitment. We have four families
right now, and are commited to growing to 25 households for this community.
St. Louis isn't Los Angeles or San Francsico in terms of the size pool we
have to draw from. In fact, we may draw people from other parts of the
country. The county where the land is located has PUD zoning which is likely
what we would use. (They seem friendly and open to the idea.) However, our
planning and zoning would likely to be done after purchasing the property,
since the seller may not accept a long contract period.

1)  Has anyone out there purchased the property first, then developed it
into cohousing later? I guess I am interested in hearing of any failures as
well as successes.

2)  If the first four or five families purchase the property, we will have a
monthly carrying cost of $1,600 to $2,000 per household, which is very high
here in Missouri where housing costs are among the lowest in the U.S., and
beyond our capabilities. In fact, we would like each of the 25 households to
pay in the area of $35,000 up front to own the property free and clear. A
few families could live in the existing houses during the development stage,
with construction in a year or two. Have any of you dealt with a situation
which involved a substantial carrying cost prior to building?

3)  What has been the experience of other groups regarding the time frame to
recruit 25 households, especially with a significant financial requirement?

Thanks for suggestions and ideas. Best wishes for the new year.

Robert Ferre

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