Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Secrecy vs Right to Privacy? Sharing vs Hiding?

[Ann Zabaldo (zabaldo]

Hello all —

As many of you know, Sharon is my neighbor here at Takoma Village in 
Washington, DC.  She is a prolific contributor to this list.  She is also a 
major contributor to our life here at TVC.

She is my friend.

And, as in all friendships, we have disagreements.  Sometimes … several 
concurrent ones.

Sharon’s post about issues of secrecy and privacy prompted me to remember for 
myself that postings here on this list are the viewpoint of one person.  And 
one person only:  the writer.  In all these posts we read and respond to, we 
don’t know how others in the community view an issue. 

It is easy to fall into assumptions with posts that are written with certitude, 
confidence and even … inquiry.  Exaggerations and terms such as always, never, 
no one, everyone, etc. can give a mistaken impression about a concern.  Etc., 
etc.

I’m not going to comment further on Sharon’s email as it is an issue that does 
not lend itself to an email format, IMHO.

And, also, it’s Friday night … 

Best —

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Ex. Dir. & Mbr. Board of Directors
Mid Atlantic Cohousing
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
Falls Church, VA
202.546.4654
zabaldo [at] earthlink.net

If I’m ever on Life Support unplug me. 
Then plug me back in.  
See if that works.  (T-shirt humor)

NOTE:  Please use zabaldo [at] earthlink.net for email.
















> On Jul 29, 2022, at 2:04 PM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> I have been flummoxed recently by one or two stoutly stated claims that 
> information about sales and new residents does not have to be shared with 
> anyone except the Board because it is a violation of the right to privacy. 
> Sharing the asking price of a unit is unacceptable and no one’s business 
> unless they are making an offer. New resident information is made available 
> after the unit is sold, even after closing. It is confidential.
> 
> When we recently discussed the policy on architectural review and worked on 
> clarity about what needed review and what didn’t and how to record this, 
> right to privacy was raised. Who could see this information? What right did 
> people have to ask?
> 
> The legal question here is easier to answer — by law the condominium has to 
> sign a document swearing that no changes to the unit have been done that 
> violate any of the condominium rules so it should have some protection 
> against liability. And if you start rearranging the plumbing it affects this 
> whole wing of the building. But where does this idea come from that people 
> want to keep everything secret and it has nothing to do with living in a 
> community?
> 
> Legally a condominium owner can sell to whomever they please within the 
> zoning codes, etc., but does that mean they should/could/can/might keep a 
> sale secret until someone notices they are moving out and someone else seems 
> to be moving in? Or no one is moving in and the unit seems empty? 
> 
> But we have an exclusive rights in our bylaws so that the Association can 
> always purchase a unit rather than having it go up for auction. How do we 
> exercise this right if the sale is none of our business?
> 
> Certainly the community spirit of "we all in this together," "what you do 
> affects all of us," and "we can only do this if everyone is on board” 
> develops more strongly in the development phase when things are touch and go. 
> When units are selling for half a million dollars and there is a bidding war, 
> “its my money” is a stronger argument than when everything is at risk. But is 
> it inevitable that selling units will be just like selling houses on the open 
> market?
> 
> Why would I want to live in cohousing if I wanted to do whatever I pleased, 
> no questions asked, and no information shared? And why would I even live in a 
> condominium — a shared ownership scheme.
> 
> Is this sentiment increasing in other communities?
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
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