Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Move In Procedures?

[Katie Henry (katie-henry]

Tara's list is excellent. It sounds like you dealt with many of the same 
covid-related challenges as we did. 

Concerning the walk-through recommendation: "Recommend having 1-2 people do a 
deficiency walk-through of every unit and space so commonalities can be noted 
[ed: The benefit of this can hardly be understated]"

A couple suggestions:

1. Hire a professional to train the walk-through team(s) on a sample unit. We 
later encountered problems that our teams didn't know to check for. For 
example, we had several units with loose plumbing connections under/behind the 
kitchen sink that later leaked and caused extensive damage. It takes just a few 
minutes to check those connections had we known. There were other issues that 
I've mercifully forgotten. 

2. Rather than inspecting all aspects of each unit when it's finished and ready 
for closing, consider inspecting all of each trade's work at one time. For 
example, when the electricians are almost done, inspect everything electrical 
in the whole building. If you give them a single comprehensive punch list, 
they'll knock it out and you'll be done. But if you wait to inspect each unsold 
unit until it finds a buyer, possibly many months later, you'll have a punch 
list for a half-dozen subs. They won't be happy about making a separate trip 
after each inspection to fix a bunch of little stuff. Some of the less 
regulated subs (drywallers, door installers) might stop taking your calls and 
you'll have to pay someone to fix things. 

Katie Henry
Heartwood Commons - Tulsa (Oklahoma)

---------------------------
Tara Gallen wrote:

Our Urban Village is a 13-unit building in an urban setting in Vancouver. We 
moved in three years ago. We were fortunate to get some notes from peer 
communities that helped us a lot. I've adapted a few highlights below 
(including stuff that was applicable for us and stuff that was not) and my own 
more recent notes are marked with ["ed"]. Sorry if the formatting is bonkers. 
Mazel tov for your move-in and your new community.
...