Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Value-added

[R Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

I think any multi family housing development, organized as either cooperative 
or condominium, will have value added if it appears stable, safe and 
well-maintained.  And shared assets, like a pool and poolhouse, will add value 
for people who like to swim, or to socialize in bathing suits.  But ...

Will the fact that a development follows cohousing community principles add 
value to the unit sales price?  Well, it might, if (a) the buyer is among that 
minority interested in cohousing and living in community, and (b) if the 
community in question looks happy and successful.  But for the majority of 
buyers NOT interested in communal living, the cohousing model will be a minus, 
not a plus.  Even if a coho community is not dysfunctional and factionalized -- 
in fact, is happy and successful -- it will often have a particular identity 
emphasis -- like farming, or community singing, or retirement -- that will 
focus its appeal on a very limited subset of shoppers.

My point is that cohousing may very well incorporate social capital that is 
undeniably of value to those living in it, but this value may not translate 
immediately into sales price in the open market, when compared to "regular" 
housing nearby.  The real trick is that of making sure appropriate buyers are 
available or findable in the time frame the unit is on the market.

None of which speaks to the question of the community bank account profiting 
from a felicitous match of buyer and seller.

RPD

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 13, 2013, at 7:53 AM, Richart Keller <richart.keller [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> 
> 1) Interested in if and how communities treat the value-added by the social
> capital of cohousing when a unit is sold.
> 
> Is there an additional dollar-value assessed which is included in the
> transaction and which goes to the community?  Is this enforced by an
> informal practice/expectation, a formal agreement, or some legal mechanism?
> 
> 2) Or are there any other types of assessments or fees which accrue to the
> community as part of the sale? If so, what are they and how are they
> "enforced"?
> 
> 3) Or any recommendations for types of assessments due at sale?
> 
> Rick Keller, A.I.C.P.
> Pioneer Valley Cohousing
> Amherst, MA
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