Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Retrofit Cohousing

[Kevin Wolf (kjwolf]

On Tue, 6 Jun 1995, Barb Bruns wrote:
> 
> I am becoming interested in the idea of working with others to retrofit
> an older neighborhood for co-housing in the Cincinnati area.  
> 
> I know virtually nothing about the details (legal, financing, etc.).  The 
> cohousing Web page referred to a book "Sustainable Cities:  Concepts
> and Strategies for Eco-City Development" from CRSP.  Would this be a 
> good source to start from?
> 
> Thanks.
> Barb    
> 
I don't know about book resources in this area, maybe Stuart or others 
can help you.  It seems essential that you and the group make some key 
decisions early, regarding strategy and goals in your retrofit planning. 

1.  Will you include rentals, even if they  are not likely soon to be 
sold to someone in the community (and does the person renting have the 
first right of refusal to buy the house from the landlord?)

2.  Will you buy and rent houses that are not contiguous but might 
someday become so?

3.  Will some of the homes that you but be owned by couples, partners, as 
limited equity co-ops, others as non-profits?  

4.  Will you identify the common house from the get-go, occupy it 
(hopefully own it) and rent or not rent out rooms?

5.  Will you invite existing people living in the neighborhood, in 
contiguous houses to join your community?  What if they turn out to be a 
real problem, will you put the fence back up?  Will you operate by 
consensus and will everyone automatically have rights to "block 
consensus"?  How will this affect letting in people you might not know 
very well?

6.  Will property owners have more rights than renters?  Over their own 
land?  Will you put an easement down  the middle halfs of the back yards 
(as N St did) to ensure that future purchasers of the home know that 
others have the right to be in their back yard - until a consensus of all 
landowners on the easement agree otherwise?

7.  How will people buy into the common house?  (In N St, I had bought 
what would become our common house in the early 1980's.  My landlord 
convinced me that the revolution was n't coming very soon, and that  we 
should learn the rules of the capitalist system, of real estate, banks, 
tax law, etc and make it work for our own ideals.  My wife and I still 
own the common house but live next door in the house we bought together.  
We pledged to sell the common house to the community whenever we got our 
act together enough to buy it.  In the meantime, the community rents it 
from us.)

Make these and other decisions and you can more easily determine a 
strategy for retrofitting a block.  Develop a 5 and 10 year plan.  Most 
every house will turn over by then.  The time actually goes quite 
quickly, and its is fun not knowing exactly what your community will be 
like t he next year.  It evolves and grows over time.

Good luck.  And enjoy every new house you add in.
---
Kevin Wolf
724 N St
Davis, CA 95616
phone and fax: 916-758-4211