Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Legal Structure

[Glen Orcutt (gorcutt]

Ginger W. Long wrote:
>For instance, do we 
>have a development group which is separate from the homeowner's 
>association?  What are the differences between condo & co-op?  Should we 
>legally incorporate as a partnership, non-profit, LLC or any of the other 
>possibilities?  What are the advantages and disadvantages?  

We formed a "mutual benefit" non-profit corporation to coordinate the
development which will die when the project is complete.  Then we will have
a homeowner's association which is also a mutual benefit non-profit entity
(but exempt from state taxes). 

Our ownership structure is planned-unit development - different from
condominium in that owners own a lot as well as the structure.  The
homeowners association will still maintain the outside of the homes.

What you do really depends on your situation and group.  In our area, condos
are not popular, so we opted for PD.  These two modes of ownership are in
the mainstream and thus banks are familiar with them.  Co-ops and Land
Trusts are not well known in this area and we rejected them for that reason.

Glen Orcutt
Valley Oaks Village
Chico, CA