Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: allocation of common costs

[Judy Baxter (BAXTER]

Hi-

the posts I've seen so far on this question of common costs span the spectrum
as I  know it.  *there is no best way, IMHO*

- per household, means very small households including (often, tho not
always, with less income)  pay the same as larger ones, say 2 adults plus 1-3
kids.

        that didn't seem fair to us, tho there are some ways in which smalller
households use common facilities more.

-per sq foot, size, price (all roughly related to size) , which was seen as
penalizing large homes, somewhat.

We use a mixture - for common costs - 25% on per household basis, 75% on a
proportion-to-size basis.  We discussed these ratios quite a lot - there is no
right answer, of course, but the group seems comfortable with this.  We played
with a logarithmic formula that a group in Tasmania posted, but decided it was
too hard to explain, and this is very similar.

BTW,
I found it hard to believe this isn't in the archives  (I know I've posted this
before) but I couldn't find anything under cost, or common (seems weird).  I
used the search all Cohousing discussion at the CSF site.  Anybody have any
ideas how there could be nothing with "common" in the subject header?
Judy

Judy Baxter, Monterey Cohousing Community,(MoCoCo) Twin Cities Area, Mpls.,MN
-- e-mail:      baxter [at] epivax.epi.umn.edu
        (usually checked on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday)
15 homes - 7 new townhomes and 8 coop apartments  in a rehab Georgian building
 built as a retirement home in 1924 - 

We are getting our older driveway seal-coated! Such fun! It get's the driveay
cleared!

 Voice Mail for Monterey Cohousing - 612-930-7554