So what does it cost?
From: Fillard Rhyne (fillardhevanet.com)
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 22:51:49 -0700 (PDT)
Hey cohousers,

Those of you who saw the message I sent over the weekend (3000 words plus a 
link to a large spreadsheet) may not be surprised that I never heard back from 
anyone. So allow me to pose a more approachable question:

What are the classic "big costs" that a new cohousing group is likely to be 
unaware of, or to grossly miscalculate, when its members are still in the 
"dreaming about properties" stage?


In case it'll help, here's an example: My small cohousing group was looking at 
an $800k property that already had a large house on it. One possible plan would 
have been to build 5 row houses with a total square footage of 4450, which at 
$180 per square foot (we'd like to be environmentally friendly) would cost an 
extra $800k. We'd also pay $60k to retrofit the existing house, $10k for some 
rudimentary landscaping, $60k for design, permits, and lawyers, and $20k for 
slush fund/contingency. That's $1,750,000 so far. Add a 5% project management 
fee and we get $1,838,000. If the construction loan is for 85% of that figure 
and incurs 2% closing costs and 10% total interest, the whole shebang comes to 
$2,028,000.

Am I even close?

Please understand that I know you haven't seen the property and have almost no 
idea how we'd have used it. I know you can't tell me, "Whoa, your plans to 
retrofit the existing house are pretty elaborate; better up that figure to 
$100k." But does anything I've written above look completely out of whack? Have 
I blown past some huge cost item that's incurred by most cohousing groups? (For 
example, I just realized I hadn't budgeted for project management, so I went 
back and put that in -- increasing the bottom line by nearly $100k.)

Thanks,
Fillard
503-777-MATH (6284)
http://www.503777math.com

"How silent the woods would be if only the best birds sang."
- Dale Turner

(1900 words this time. That's better than 3000, I guess...)

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.