Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Affordability, small houses

[Saramandaia Farm (etaincr]

We continue to do what's possible here in Costa Rica to get our own small 
development going.  I'll recap, in case someone has an interest.

We have 38 acres of land, mostly low mountainous, in Costa Rica, about 20 km. 
west of the capital of San Jose, and half an hour from the main international 
airport.  We bought the land in the 70s, removed all grazing animals from the 
badly eroded slopes, and left it to regrow for about 20 years.  At that time we 
built three houses, living on each in turn while building the next.  We're 
finishing the fourth house next month.  Maybe.  This IS Latin America.  The 
houses are 450 sq. ft., 600 sq.ft., 2000+sq.ft., and 1100 sq. ft.  So some are 
quite small.  Our own is the largest house.  Three of us live there most of the 
year, and the first floor is often rented to people planning retirement and 
relocation to Costa Rica.  Until we get more solvent and seriously interested 
people involved, the houses are rented to graduate students at the nearby 
University for Peace.  In 1-3 years, we hope to have individual buyers who want 
to buy the three smaller houses, with the land being
 held in common.  We have a legal contract outline for that to happen.  
Whatever other common elements we may have remain to be seen and discussed.  

Our situation is complicated by issues of legal residency and by the apparent 
insolvency of most of the people who've contacted me.  The land and homes 
represent our major investment, and we're not planning to encourage people to 
get involved here if they don't have the reasonable hope of permanence.  
Several younger people wrote that they have nothing but their energies and 
enthusiasm to offer, but that doesn't help us realize our investment, although 
it might make for pleasant neighbors.  For now, the rentals are a good source 
of income (and intelligent, interesting neighbors), and we're enjoying the 
present as well as looking forward to the future.

So...some of us ARE doing small house projects.  We're considering another few 
houses on the land...but would need more capital to do that...which means 
selling one of the houses...and so on.  Those houses would also be small.  We 
were astonished to see references in books to small houses qualified by the 
words "Under 2000 square feet".  That seems enormous to us.  

Just what's happening here...

Sharon



 
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