Cohousing-L Mailing List: Allocating Common Costs by an Algorithm e.g. based on # adults and sq. ft.

[Jim Bronson (jimbronsonashland]

Dear Cohousing Communities,

River Song is planning to break ground soon.  We are thinking about having
one electric meter per building and one water meter for the whole community
to save costs - which may be as much as $600/month compared to having
meters for each unit.

When we are up and running our HOA will allocate common costs monthly or
quarterly.  We have heard from other cohousing communities that they have
evolved a way of fairly allocating common costs using an algorithm based on
# of adults and square footage for each unit.

For our planning, I have attached a one page MS Word doc that shows an
example of how we think this could look for the simple case of a 4 unit
cohousing community.  I would appreciate hearing from communities
experienced in using algorithm allocation for common costs about what they
have learned.  Also, I would like to know how their algorithms may allow
for individual variations, for example a private unit having their own
solar pv, having a hot tub or an electric car charging station, etc.

Thanks for sharing what you have learned.
Jim Bronson (for the Design Team)
River Song Cohousing Community