Cohousing-L Mailing List: Developer, member fees, non-profit

[Ray & Lydia Ducharme (ducharm1]

I'm a member of Wholelife Cohousing in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  We have 8
committed households and are looking around for land to buy in the inner
city.  We have recently hired a consultant to come here from Vancouver, BC
to give us some advice and will be using her on a as-needed basis.  Although
we have utmost confidence in her abilities some members would rather not
follow her suggestions "blindly".  They think we should research subjects
ourselves so that we have some knowledge before deciding.  (Therefore, I am
here to check out this service for the first time). 

I have reviewed the information that has already been asked/answered on this
mail list but would like further information.  I have 3 questions. 

1.  What positive/negative experiences have you had with "being a
developer", "working with a developer" or "hiring a developer".  We were
told we could save money and create affordability by developing it ourselves
but some members are worried about the risk. 

2.   We are thinking of increasing our $1,000 (voting) membership fee to
$5,000. Is there really a benefit at this point to increase the amount?  (I
read about New View's land fund, is that the main reason to have more
money...so that you can move on land quickly?)

3.   We originally tried to incorporate as a "not-for-profit" but the
application has been held up for months (I don't know what was wrong with
it).  After speaking with our consultant, we asked our lawyer to "stop" our
application until we decided whether or not to become a "profit" corp.  Any
suggestions?  Is it easier to get financing?  

I'm looking forward to connecting with other cohousing groups, thanks for
your help. 

:-) Lydia