Re: Right of first refusal
From: Jim Snyder-Grant (jimsgnewview.org)
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:35:31 -0700 (PDT)
Susan L. Hedgpeth asked about the right of first refusal in coho communities.

At New View (Acton, MA) we've had ROFR language in our bylaws since we
started. It's similar the JP cohousing language (and I'll bet it was
reviewed by the same lawyer). Our language is here:

http://newview.org/legal_docs.htm  (search in the master deed for the
word 'refusal').

(and I have no idea if this would be valid in CA)

A few years ago, after reflecting on our first couple of sales, we
then backed it up with some procedural detail, which I've added at the
bottom.

We used this effectively for our most recent unit transfer. When we
heard that my neighbor was planning to move & sell, we reminded her of
the 30-day delay that might happen after she found a buyer if we ran
the full process, and proposed an alternative:

1) She would set a price based on an appraisal
2) We would find a buyer to meet the terms, using the process in our
ROFR agreement.

This saved her from paying a realtor fee, and gave us control over the
process. The sale took a long time - this was during the recent
softening of house prices after big price inflation, so we had a hard
time finding any buyers willing and able to pay anywhere near the
asking price.  We explained this to the seller, who agreed to
negotiate a lower price, and our buyer, who we found us via an ad we
placed in the paper, moved in happily about 1 year ago.

In the future, the only change I would make would be to add an
agreement that the seller will reimburse New View for reasonable fees
- newspaper ads, etc.

--
PROPOSAL: RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL PROCESS

January 15, 2003
Modifed and Passed at the Meeting of February 13, 2003


1) New View Condominium owners must notify the Condominium Trustees in
writing, using a form provided by the trustees, of an intended unit
sale as described in Section 17 of the Master Deed.

2)  The Trustees will immediately notify the Membership Committee of
the proposed sale. The Membership Committee will then form a Selection
Team comprising members of the Membership Committee, at least one
member of the  Steering Committee, and other interested New View
households. The Selection Team will not be larger than seven people.

3) The Selection Team notifies all existing Condo Association Members,
Community Members and Friends of New View about the upcoming sale and
asks  any interested buyers in those groups to arrange an interview
within a specified period of time.

4) At the discretion of the Selection Team, households on the Inquiry
List may also be contacted at any time. The Selection Team will inform
people on the Inquiry List of the selection process, open house dates
and times, and any deadlines for setting up an interview with the
Selection Team.

5) The Selection Team may undertake other activities to facilitate
sale of the unit, e.g., distributing flyers, placing advertisements,
posting information about the process, the unit and open houses as a
link on New View's website, hiring a real estate broker, etc.

6) The Selection Team will interview interested household(s), collect
any information about the households, and coordinate any other actions
necessary to make a recommendation to the Trustees.

7) The Selection Team will make a final recommendation to the New View Trustees.

8) The Trustees will then decide whether to exercise the Right of
First Refusal option as specified in Section 17 of the Master Deed.

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