Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Affordable Home for Sale Mosaic Commons Berlin, MA

[Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizm]

Our two cohousing communities together are 68 homes, originally with 25%
affordable --17 homes.
By making 25% of the homes affordable through the state 40B program we were
able to override the towns restricted zoning regulations.
The two communities on this property operate independently but share
infrastructure and the land.

Through complicated stuff about trying to sell homes in 2008-2010 housing
disaster,
3 unsold homes were converted to market rate, so we now have 14 affordable
homes, 7 in each community.

These homes have permanent affordability through the state program. When we
set up our original percentage interest for each home the affordable ones
simply have a smaller percentage interest, and thus automatically pay a
smaller share of the HOA dues. We do not take this into account when doing
budgeting, we simply presume it will work out. HOA dues cover all the
required expenses (snow, insurance, water, sewer, road maintenance,
reserves), so we don't actually have much (any) flexibility for these dues.

Note that the 40B law specifically notes that we cannot "require" anyone to
"join" anything, so we have optional membership in our cohousing
association, with separate dues for cohousing expenses. We intentionally
move many of the costs of living in community to the cohousing
dues--laundry, electricity for the common house, furniture and other items
in the common house, parties, gardening, etc. The cohousing dues are
sliding scale, average around $90 to $100 per month, and the minimum bid
for residents who choose to join the cohousing association is 5% of the
average. So again, we do not budget around the affordable homes, but do
presume that those in them may choose to pledge very little for the
cohousing expense.

(So far all resident owners, affordable or not, have chosen to join the
cohousing association.)

-Liz
Elizabeth Mae Magill
www.mosaic-commons.org
www.elizabethmaemagill.com
508-450-0431


On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 4:36 PM Muriel Kranowski <murielk [at] vt.edu> wrote:

> Liz, I'm curious to know how many 40B units you have, out of how many total
> units, and how or whether having that set of lower-income residents skews
> your overall planning and budget decisions.
>
> My community initially had 4 units (out of 33) reserved for lower-income
> first-time homeowners. That program benefited those specific members and
> didn't get passed on to their buyers when they sold their units. Early on,
> when 3 or 4 of them were still here, we were very aware of the possible
> impact on them of higher HOA dues and it influenced how we did, and still
> do, our budgeting.
>     Muriel @ Shadowlake Village
>
> On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 2:16 PM Elizabeth Magill <pastorlizm [at] gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Mosaic Commons Cohousing has a small 3BR affordable home (through 40B) in
> > Mosaic Commons Cohousing that will be auctioned at 10 am March 26, at 9
> > Village Lane. It's pretty short notice.
> >
> > Massachusetts 40B program is for households making about 80% of the area
> > average income. (You can find 2023 income limits here
> > https://www.mhp.net/assets/resources/documents/one__income_limits.pdf
> > Berlin, MA is in Worcester County on page 5.)
> > There are also asset limits.
> >
> > We expect you should know you will qualify for a mortgage before bidding,
> > and there is a $7500 deposit to bid. We are researching how to show you
> are
> > 40B eligible--or whether you need to show it before the auction.
> >
> > If you may qualify, we think it would be worth bidding on the home. We'd
> > like to have a cohouser here.
> >
> > If this sounds worth your time, let us know your interest and we can
> share
> > what we know about how to get help with the process. We also can show
> you a
> > similar home if you would like.
> >
> > https://mosaic-commons.org/node/203
> >
> > Note that it is always possible that the auction will be stopped or
> > delayed.
> >
> > -Liz
> > (The Rev. Dr.) Elizabeth Mae Magill
> > Pastor, Ashburnham Community Church
> > Minister to the Affiliates, Ecclesia Ministries
> > www.elizabethmaemagill.com
> > 508-450-0431
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> >
> >
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