Re: mortgages, investment etc.
From: Wendy Willbanks Wiesner (wwiesneraffordablecohousing.org)
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2015 10:42:49 -0700 (PDT)
Hello Liz and Others Who Care About this Challenging and Important Issue,

Please join us at Partnerships for Affordable Housing (PFAC).

This group emerged out of the COHO affordable housing workgroup, when
Richart Keller and Jerome Garciano came to the very prescient and
courageous conclusion that it needed to formally organize--with a 501(c)3,
a board, and a strategic plan (created with the leadership and guidance of
Lisa Poley).  Liz, I believe that you were a very helpful part of these
early discussions.

Since Jerome and Rick "just did it!", PFAC has been very busy, doing for
over three years what is in retrospect an astonishing amount of work for an
all-volunteer organization.  Thank You for the deeply committed and capable
colleagues on the PFAC Board, for industry colleagues who now "get it", for
friends and burning souls, and for cohousing groups (for me--Wissahickon,
Altair, Ecovillage at Ithaca, locally Geos, Aria, Miller St., Parker--deep
and heartfelt thanks).

Thanks also for cohousing professionals who have supported and ultimately
championed the unfolding of this organization (Ann Zabaldo for opening up
your home and community to bankers who needed to see it for
themselves--absolutely crucial--so grateful!; Peter Spaulding and Jim Leach
who have shared their development model and perspective--thank you!).  To
Alice Alexander, Bill Hartzell, and the rest of the COHO US Board for
executing a clear and formal partnership  between COHO US and PFAC--with
clear goals and guidelines that reflect business sense.

Finally, tremendous gratitude for Chuck and Katie who have birthed an
entire movement-- a radical and fundamental shift in what we think and know
is possible if we're to house ourselves better and improve the quality of
our lives.

All of you (and most certainly others who I have failed to mention, who are
working closely with PFAC and its people) have provided the real-life beta
test that has helped us better understand the problems, the needs, and the
opportunities involved when bringing cohousing into mainstream
consciousness, in a way that opens up the capital channels to support it.

Over the past few years, we've totally had our heads down at PFAC, focusing
a lot on making supportive relationships outside of the cohousing
community.   With so much focus on doing--and not a lot of people doing the
doing--we've not made internal communications the priority that it now
clearly needs to be.  Using the already-established   COHO US communication
channels like cohousing.org, now much more readily available given our
recent agreement, will be of enormous help.

Now is the time for us to circle back with our community and share what
we've been doing.  It's time to go live.

We look forward to seeing you at the national conference Friday afternoon
for a more relaxed meet and greet, and Saturday for a broad-based
affordability session/panel where serious work will be done.

Please join us and join our effort--one that holds an important place and
part within a cohousing movement.  The time is right--economically,
environmentally, politically, socially.  Let's further the conversation,
the dialogue, and the participation, starting in Durham.

Wendy

Wendy Willbanks Wiesner
Founding Board Member and Treasurer
Partnerships for Affordable Cohousing (PFAC)
affordablecohousing.org











On Sun, Apr 26, 2015 at 6:14 AM, Liz Ryan Cole <lizryancole [at] me.com> wrote:

>
> I would like to create a group to discuss this further.  I would not be
> surprised to learn that the coho board had experience/thoughts suggestions
> on this topic.  Other related topics are how to create tax credits (so that
> when we self-fund affordable or workforce housing there are tax benefits)
> and creating an LLC to oversee the workforce/affordable housing created
> within cohousing, allowing us to keep the culture of cohousing front and
> center for all income groups.
>
> If there is already a working group I'd like to join - if there is not I
> volunteer to gather names and organize an formation meeting (and I will be
> in Durham in May).
>
> liz
>
> Liz Ryan Cole
> Vermont Law School (day job) 802.831.1240
> Pinnacle Cohousing (Lyme, NH)  (802.274-1511 mobile)
>
>
>
> On Apr 25, 2015, at 5:49 PM, Jerry McIntire wrote:
>
>
> I like John's idea. Create an investment vehicle, a cohousing loan fund.
>
> Jerry
> On Apr 25, 2015 3:08 PM, "John Sechrest" <sechrest [at] gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > If there is a way to find the data on mortgages, there is likely a way to
> > build an investment tool that would allow gathering people to invest
> > directly in cohousing.
> > On Apr 25, 2015 1:03 PM, "Ann Zabaldo" <zabaldo [at] earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Hi John and all – – this is where we need some seed money to do some
> >> research in Cohousing. This is the kind of data that we know are out
> > there
> >> anecdotally but we need some actual facts and figures to back up our
> > belief
> >> that Cohousing mortgages are strong mortgages and are worth investing
> in.
> >> There are number of new cohousing communities coming online in the next
> > few
> >> years and we sure need a financial structure to make these mortgages
> > secure
> >> for the future homeowners. It's really distressing to get right down to
> > the
> >> takeout mortgages and then find out your shut out. The amount of
> > financial
> >> grief that community members who had to take because of the lack of
> >> mortgage money is as I said in a former email painful and bloody.
> >>
> >> Ann Zabaldo
> >> Takoma village cohousing
> >> Washington DC
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >>> On Apr 25, 2015, at 3:29 PM, John Sechrest <sechrest [at] gmail.com> 
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> what do you think is the total value of all cohousing mortgages that
> > are
> >>> currently in existence?
> >>>
> >>> is there a national opportunity for an investment in cohousing
> > mortgages?
> >>> On Apr 25, 2015 12:24 PM, "Sharon Villines" <sharon [at] 
> >>> sharonvillines.com
> >>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> On Apr 25, 2015, at 3:04 PM, R Philip Dowds <rpdowds [at] comcast.net>
> >> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> So I remain totally opposed to skulking around, hoping that the
> >>>> capitalist interests of money and property fail to notice that I live
> > in
> >>>> cohousing.  I think we need to keep on doing what we’re doing:
> >> Educating,
> >>>> and leading the way.
> >>>>
> >>>> I think this is a good attitude to take collectively--for the
> >> Association
> >>>> or volunteers on behalf of the Association to collect data and provide
> >> it
> >>>> to banks.
> >>>>
> >>>> But for each individual in a huge country to take this on has proven
> >>>> self-defeating time and time again. There just aren't enough cohousing
> >>>> communities or buyers applying to the same bank to make an impact as
> >>>> individuals.
> >>>>
> >>>> Banks don't invest money in shared meals, errand running,
> > celebrations,
> >>>> diversity, etc. They invest in real estate developments.
> >>>>
> >>>> Cohousers invest in shared meals, errand running, celebrations,
> >> diversity,
> >>>> etc., not real estate development. (Although in the end they are, they
> >>>> aren't attracted by that.)
> >>>>
> >>>> These are different aims.
> >>>>
> >>>> Sharon
> >>>> ----
> >>>> Sharon Villines
> >>>> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> >>>> http://www.takomavillage.org
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _________________________________________________________________
> >>>> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> >>>> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
> >>> _________________________________________________________________
> >>> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> >>> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
> >>>
> >>>
> >> _________________________________________________________________
> >> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> >> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
> >>
> >>
> >>
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> > http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
> >
> >
> >
> _________________________________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
>
>
>

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.