Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Rental company involvement

[Bonnie Fergusson (fergyb2]

The best solution we’ve found, beyond maintaining a list of interested 
buyers/renters; is to identify real estate agents who understand cohousing and 
agree to work with you.  Most of our new folk have come in via word of mouth 
from residents, our list of interested, Cohousing ads, or working with real 
estate agents we know who “get” us. We do have one young owner who hasn’t a 
clue, but not because no one told her.Bonnie FergussonSwans Market 
CohousingOakland, CA


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad


On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 12:03 PM, Bloom! A WeBUILT Community via Cohousing-L 
<cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

Hum - This isn’t a cohousing expert here just an old attorney with an opinion 
:.). If your deed has a restriction or refers to your rules and regs or if you 
have the equivalent of an HOA document that is given to buyers, the owner of 
the property is responsible for 1)-being a good resident of your group and 
2-not renting to someone you do not know and have not vetted.


Elissa M. Ryan Morris, Manager
Bloom! A WeBUILT Community, LLC
503-319-9078




> On May 6, 2026, at 9:26 AM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
>> On May 6, 2026, at 11:56 AM, Melanie Mindlin via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
>> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>> 
>> When the owner was asked about this situation, he replied that the Rental 
>> Agency told him it was illegal for them to tell prospective renters anything 
>> about our community. They gave the renter a copy of our CC&R’s (which does 
>> not include the By Laws or Rules and Regulations, both official documents of 
>> the community). This person has now arrived in our community and said that 
>> she asked the agency if the home was part of the Cohousing Community and was 
>> told NO. [snip]  Does anyone have information on this issue to share so I 
>> can enter into a conversation well informed?
> 
> It is not illegal to share information. The renter/buyer might have signed a 
> contract in which they agreed not to share information but there is nothing 
> illegal about a prospective owner/renter contacting neighbors, etc. There are 
> some messages in the archives on this and they always mention the problem in 
> relation to using a real estate agent. Usually the contract says the the 
> buyer/renter has to pay a commission to the agent if the agent is the first 
> person to how them the unit.
> 
> The agent is protecting their own commission. They tell the prospect what 
> they want to hear and they don’t want anyone else telling them anything that 
> might screw the deal — like "this isn’t cohousing.” That would clearly be a 
> lie and would void the agreement. 
> 
> Takoma Village has had negative results using agents and produced at least 
> one sale to almost totally uninterested and non-participaing residents. They 
> have a well defined process that attracts interested buyers well before a 
> unit is available. People attend a meal, a meeting, an orientation and join a 
> waiting list. Some will then participate in workdays while they wait for a 
> unit to be available. Ann Zabaldo and Alicia George have explained the 
> process so you can search the archives for their messages. And check the 
> Takoma Village website:
> 
> http://www.takomavillage.org <http://www.takomavillage.org/>
> 
> You don’t want anyone to rent or buy without understanding what they are 
> getting themselves into. For buyers the state laws usually require that all 
> the polices and agreements they will have to follow to be provided to them 
> before they sign on the dotted line.
> 
> Question anything that doesn’t produce the results you need.
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Riderwood Village, Silver Spring MD
> Founding member and 25 year resident in Takoma Village, Washington DC
> 
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