Cohousing-L Mailing List: Is Affordability Wanted?

[Harry Pasternak (Harry_Pasternak]

I am surprised that so few cost saving building methods have been posted to
the list I started?---Despite that fact, that questions are regularily posted
regarding the cost and affordability. It seems that in past responses related
to shuffling the finacing around
for the land. Is it possible that there may be a conflict of interest, here?

* Are all the architects working on collaborative/cooperative/cohousing
houses, communal facilities and neighborhoods working on a percentage---the
more the project costs, the more they get paid?

* Are all developers working on collaborative/cooperative/cohousing houses,
communal facilities and neighborhoods working on a percentage of the cost of
the project or the lots---the more the lots or homes cost, the greater the
profit?

* Are all consultants working on collaborative/cooperative/cohousing houses,
communal facilities and neighborhoods working on a percentage of the cost of
the project---the more the homes cost, the greater the fee?

*  Are all general contractors working on collaborative/cooperative/cohousing
houses, communal facilities and neighborhoods working on a percentage of the
cost of the project--the more the homes cost, the greater the mark-ups and
the greater the profit?

* Or, on the other hand are some folk (developers, architects, consultants,
general contractors) working on a fee basis that does not relate to the cost
of the homes, communal facilities and the neighborhood?

* Or is this "cohousing" phenomenon in North America being taken out of
context, with homes primarily being developed for the former "yuppie"
market?---rather than the lower/middle income and middle income families,
that the vast majority of the collaborative/cooperative/cohousing homes in
Europe, have been developed for, over the past thirty years?

* Or are there other reasons?

Harry Pasternak
Unpaid Volunteer For "Do It Yourselfers" Who Need Proven Information On
Designing and Building Affordable, Frugally Operationally,  Supportive
Neighborhoods With An Abundance of Social Networking Opportunities, who works
at:
Thousand Islands Institute
The Independent Centre For Housing Research & Education
(Harry_Pasternak [at] tvo.org)

- sent via an evaluation copy of BulkRate (unregistered).