Cohousing-L Mailing List: affordable housing

[BERWIN (BERWIN]

   I've been doing a lot of thinking about how cohousing could be
made more affordable. My husband and I were involved in several
developing cohousing sites in the triangle area of North Carolina
and in the end realized that we really can't afford cohousing at
this time. We're in our fifties so it's not as if our income will
change much in the future, but there is a chance that we might be
able to afford it in a few years once the places are built. The
building loans are terribly expensive.
   So I'm not thinking about us, but others who have much less of
a chance of ever affording cohousing.
   Here's an idea I came up with--
   What if it's made clear from the beginning that every cohousing
unit contributes twenty five dollors a month to the affordable
housing pot. In my opinion from my experience in cohousing-if you
can afford cohousing you can afford 25 extra a month, above and
beyond the monthly fees. 
  OK-so thats six thousand dollars coming in a year from a twenty
unit place.
  So I was thinking that sooner or later one place will be up for
sale and what if the cohousing organization bought that place
using the 6,000 plus as the downpayment. This could be the 5%
downpayment on a adjustable mortgage for a place selling for
120,000. (closing costs?? a hitch--well,hopefully some of the more
financially blessed would pitch in here).
   What I've thought of is that the cohousing would then be able
to subsidize someone who would of never been able to afford the
place. Members would continue to pay the 25 a month, for as long
as they live there and this money would go toward a good part of
the monthly mortgage. The remaining monthly mortgage payment would be paid
by the renter who is being financially assisted. The cohousing
would be paying 500 (20 units) a month and the renter the rest
each month.
   There are alot of people out there who can afford 500 or 600 a
month rent but can never save enough for downpayment on a house.
   Maybe the cohousing could get a headstart on the money and then
be able to invest and get interest to offset the baloon mortgage.
   My experience has been that no one has enough extra money to
build a unit for rental. I understand how difficult it is to even
get cohousing off the ground. This is a way a unit could be
converted to a rental and the cohousing community help one person
or couple live in a place  which is like where everyone else
lives, in a private house.
   As I see it cohousing is absolutely tied to the price of the
land and square foot building prices (I realize there are some big
exceptions here for those who build their places themselves). In
some places you just can't buy the lot and build for under 100,000
and we can't expect the cohousers to do the impossible.
  So that's the idea I've been playing with. I'm not a bank loan
officer!! Is this do-able??? I hope someone on the list is better
at understanding mortgages than I. What do you think? Is this a way
twenty cohousing units could really create one affordable place for
someone??   Leah 
Leah