Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: co-housing and real-estate investments

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

Dan Everett  Kinney Ridge Community in Athens GA asked about limited 
equity on resale.  Several other posts followed suggesting right of 
first refusal as another means of controlling the price of land over time.

Either works from what I have seen, but neither solution is acceptable 
to the banks  in my area.  I assume you are a subsidized co-op of some 
sort?  If your goal is preserving low income housing what I would 
reccomend is create a structure which requires 80-90% majority approval 
for bylaws changes.  Twice now in the last 20 years, successful co-ops 
in my area have been "privatized" by their members by a 51% vote of the 
owners.  What this meant in one case was an unfortunate and bitter 
division amoung those who supported the co-op and its goals for 
affordability and those who bought in cheap, and wanted equity enough 
that they organized and out voted the co-op.  Once the co-ops were 
privatized, the property could, did and has sold at its full equity 
value, a major economic windfall for some members, and a tragedy for 
the community.