Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: mortgages, investment etc.

[Jessie Kome (jehako]

Hi-

With my day job hat on: I am the Deputy Director of the Office of Block Grant 
Assistance at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That means 
I work on the Community Development Block Grant program and its components 
related to loan guarantees, neighborhood stabilization, and disaster recovery. 
I'd be happy to help getting answers to CDBG questions. There is also 
information and training resources at https://hudexchange.info .

Lately, I have been doing a lot of work with the National Disaster Resilience 
Competition. Are people here aware of the post-disaster research showing that 
more socially cohesive communities recover first and best? In addition to the 
link above, The Rockefeller Foundation has a resilience page with resources. I 
never see the measures of neighborhood social cohesiveness without thinking 
about how well a Cohousing neighborhood would score.

-Jessie Handforth Kome
Resident of Eastern Village Cohousing
Silver Spring, Maryland
"Where I had three of the grown up and almost grown up Eno Commons "kids" over 
for dinner this weekend. Fun was had."

Sent from my iPad

> On Apr 26, 2015, at 2:07 PM, Alice Alexander <alicecohous [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> 
> Thank you Liz! Per my earlier post under the earlier subject line I outline
> that Coho/US is indeed pursuing a loan fund, in partnership with PFAC
> (Partnerships for Affordable Cohousing). Regarding creating a group to
> discuss:
> 
> There is a gathering scheduled at the cohousing conference that might be an
> appropriate meeting place for these good related topics: 4:00 on Friday,
> May 28th, "making cohousing affordable" hosted by Barb Bailey, PFAC board
> member (and with Iowa City Cohousing).
> 
> Another opportunity is Wendy Wiesner's session Financing Your Community:
> Employing Affordability
> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ivEe9OUByvJd92Qpul2SfKjSOdrz1rKnONZMONSAl6U/edit?pli=1>
> .
> 
> Alice Alexander, Coho/US Executive Director
> 
> 
>> On Sun, Apr 26, 2015 at 8:14 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
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Alice Alexander
> Executive Director
> www.cohousing.org <http://www.cohous.org>
> [image: The Cohousing Association]
> _________________________________________________________________
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>