Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: co-housing and real-estate investments

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

Bill asked several good questions relative to the concepts of 
investment in a real estate project that is not yet very well defined.

My own experience is that Cohousing is real estate development done by 
a group of investors who share a mutual ideal of a cooperative 
lifestyle.  It requires a great deal of commitment, faith and trust in 
order to succeed.

If you have doubts about the commitment, trust worthiness of the group 
or its process then I would suggest going to all the meetings, 
participating as fully as you can without actually investing 
substantial money in the project.  When the project is at the stage you 
feel comfortable investing, then do so.

In order to buy an option on a site, develop the plans for the site, 
get approvals and permits from the appropriate agencies several tens of 
thousands of dollars will have to be spent.  This is where the faith 
comes in.  If people have lots of their own money tied up in the 
project they will stick it out.  This is real commitment.  It is easy 
to walk away from a project when you have little financial stake in the 
outcome.  I would personally evaluate a project by the number of people 
who have put in $5,000 or more.  If that number is high (say 6 or 7) 
then I would also invest in it because there will be that many really 
committed people invested in its success.  This doesn't mean the 
project can't go belly up and so the risk is still there, but it does 
mean that enough money is invested to make it real.

Rob Sandelin
Puget Sound Cohousing Network