Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Appraisers and larger-than-needed cohousing units

[Jim Snyder-Grant (Jim_Snyder-Grant.LOTUS]

Bob raised some good points about what market-based pricing does to cohousing 
in expensive neighborhoods. I will have one of the smaller houses in New View, 
and because of that I will need to have a downpayment significantly above 20% 
to cover the appraisal gap. This happens to be OK with me -- I'd rather put my 
resources into getting a smaller monthly payment -- but this can discourage 
small house designs & small house buyers in these types of developments.

As long as people think of housing as an investment, and not a cost, this will 
continue. Over the long haul, it seems reasonable to me that cohousing will 
encourage people to stay put, and so the resale value of the house will be less 
of a concern, and then smaller houses will be perceived as less risky. I don't 
know how long this cycle takes, though: at least a generation? 

Structuring as a condo is probably another brake in any possible transformation 
here. One of the purposes of this structure is to help enable easy sale & 
resale & the free operation of the market. That's a plus for people who  may 
move a lot, and who treat housing as an investment. Structuring as a coop or  
even a land trust would help with this change, which I think is a change that 
will support the long-run affordability of cohousing, plus other valuable goals 
such as creating lower-turnover neighborhoods that support a deeper sense of 
connectedness to place & neighbors.

But, on the other hand, I whole-heartedly supported New View's organization as 
a condo. Pragmatism to keep this darn thing going has been a strong factor in 
all of our decisions.

Jim_Snyder-Grant [at] lotus.crd.com