Cohousing-L Mailing List: Financial approach for younger prospective members

[Jane R. Mueller (jmueller]

Dear Cohousing Communitarians~

One of the best pieces of advice MIssion Peak Village received as a 
forming community was not to re-invent the wheel. We face a dilemma that 
many other communities have likely faced, and we could use your help. If 
you came up with a good way to deal with this, would you please share it?

We have submitted plans to the City for approval and are now actively 
recruiting new Members. Covering pre-development costs is high priority 
but so is creating an age-diverse community. So far, however, our 
Members and Explorers come predominantly from mature, more established 
households that already own property.

Our current financial structure asks Members to start committing housing 
funds 3-4 years in advance of project completion—and be 20% invested 
approximately two years before the living space will be available to 
occupy, which is when we will need to qualify for our construction loan. 
Younger prospective members find this particularly challenging. Here are 
some of the reasons:

 * In most cases, young adults are not in a position to buy a home
   until they have been in the work force for awhile; young adults may
   not only be saving for home ownership but also focusing on career
   development. Also, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, they are
   likely paying exorbitant rent.

 * Especially for younger households, their conditions could undergo
   significant change during that 3-4 year period, e.g.
     o Their employment could necessitate relocation
     o Having kids could reduce family income and increase expenses

 * If they should need to change plans, our financial structure ties up
   their housing funds and makes them inaccessible until we have sold
   out our project, approximately 2026.

We would love to devise a financial arrangement that covers the Mission 
Peak Village's pre-development costs, qualifies the us for needed loans, 
requires real Member commitment to the project, and yet fairly 
accommodates the needs of younger Members whose plans may change 
unavoidably.

How's THAT for a challenge? Have you found solutions?

Jane Mueller

Mission Peak Village

Fremont, CA