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

[Diana Carroll (dianaecarroll]

Liz says of Mosaic's 40b affordable housing:

"We do not take [lower income owners] into account when doing
budgeting, we simply presume it will work out [because their fees are
automatically lower]. 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."

To elaborate a little, we take them into account because they are part of
the community and have an equal voice in setting our budget. And we use
consensus, so if a budget was unacceptable to any owner, they could block
the budget until we could work out something more suitable.

I think we also take it into account in setting priorities. As Liz said, we
have separate HOA vs. cohousing budgets, but so far all owners, market rate
and affordable alike, have chosen to join the cohousing group, and that
budget too is determined via consensus. Moreover, I think our wealthier
members often actively consider the impact on our members with less means
when discussing priorities of expenses, and also when "pledging" (cohousing
budget is met through voluntary self-chosen pledges.)

Diana, also from Mosaic Commons

On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 11:23 PM Elizabeth Magill <pastorlizm [at] gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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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