Re: sales policy | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Carol Agate (carolagateme.com) | |
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 15:02:48 -0700 (PDT) |
Now that I got to the end — would you like a place to stay when you pass through Cambridge? I think we met when I took the bus tour of your area, or maybe at the convention. Carol On Jul 19, 2013, at 2:13 AM, Raines Cohen <rc3-coho-L [at] raines.com> wrote: > > Mabel and Carol, > > Perhaps you could share something about the policies at Cornerstone and the > challenges they create. I'm particularly interested in examples like this > where "laws of unintended consequences" result from two policies that on > their own seem fine. Other communities I know have run into issues around > resales via foreclosure. > > The most successful cohousing neighborhoods I have seen in this regard have > some combination of: > > * Ongoing efforts to build a pool of future members by hosting tours, doing > education, inviting people to meals/meetings > * A clear (but most often voluntary) process for homebuyers to get familiar > with the community, and vice versa > * A team assisting/leading so it's not all on the departing member, who has > the least interest in the ongoing sense of community > * A 'buddy' system to provide context and connection for a new household, > plus planned/designed activities that get people to connect > household-to-household and person-to-person outside of full-group meetings > and meals. > * Solid decision logs that are revisited so you have a legislative history > and context, plus a straightforward system to re-open decisions and > actively incorporate/seek out a new member's views on issues. > * Transfer fees (the most controversial and hard to institute afterwards, > but highly valuable) so that the community can get paid upon resale, > allowing it to invest in outreach and even pay members to do some of the > work of training/recruiting -- providing the on-ramp. > > Rights of First Refusal are powerful tools, which can create their own > effects on the relationship of buyer and seller and community even when > they are not used. They also invite additional scrutiny from some > government and banking institutions as to whether they are being used in > discriminatory fashion, as they were historically to keep now-protected > minority groups out of neighborhoods, and so even when written with the > most positive intent, they can lead to delays or challenges in financing, > inadvertently making it harder for some buyers to get in. > > Our home community (Berkeley cohousing in California, near San Francisco) > has had no resales in the last decade, and we don't bother with a waiting > list, and our prices are capped below market, and our buyers are subject to > income limitations verified by the city's housing department, so we're not > a good example. However, five of the last six resales have been to people > active in a forming/umbrella group (many who started as renters in this > community), so we may have a model for another path, one that could perhaps > be called a "farm team" or "reverse takeover" model of cohousing > development. > > Raines Cohen, Cohousing Coach and Cohousing California/East Bay Cohousing > community organizer > with my wife Betsy Morris in Vienna, Austria, visiting the incredible > Lebensraum cohousing neighborhood (over 20 acres with farm plots, a > volleyball court and soccer field, pool, PassivHaus energy-efficent design, > and extensive glassed-in halls reminding us of Windsong near Vancouver, > Canada), wrapping up a six-week trip including the International Communal > Studies Association gathering at Findhorn in Scotland (home to a > just-moving-in cohousing neighborhood) and the Global Ecovillage Network > gathering in the Swiss Alps, full of fresh ideas about the intersection of > spirit, ecology, and community. > > P.S. I'l be passing through Cambridge the weekend after next, in case you'd > like me to stop by for a conversation about this topic. > > On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 4:44 AM, Mabel Liang <mabel [at] twomeeps.com> wrote: >> I think that Carol is specifically unhappy with our wait list policy and >> its intersection with our right of first refusal. > >> On Thu, July 18, 2013 5:50 pm, Carol Agate wrote: >>> Our sales policy isn't working well, and I'd like to avoid reinventing > the >>> wheel if I can plagiarize instead. Please send me a copy of your unit >>> sales policy if you love it and feel it's brought in good cohousers to >>> your community. > _________________________________________________________________ > Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at: > http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/ > >
- Re: OT? Looking for temporary communal housing situation, (continued)
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Re: OT? Looking for temporary communal housing situation JGBARK, July 18 2013
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sales policy Carol Agate, July 18 2013
- Re: sales policy Mabel Liang, July 18 2013
- Re: sales policy Raines Cohen, July 18 2013
- Re: sales policy Carol Agate, July 25 2013
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sales policy Carol Agate, July 18 2013
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Re: OT? Looking for temporary communal housing situation JGBARK, July 18 2013
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