Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Maintaining affordability

[David L. Mandel (dlmandel]

    You presume that real estate is always a "good investment." In fact, buy
at the wrong time and you can get badly burned. Many people have.
     If my housing costs less initially because it's not developed at market
prices and I therefore don't have to service a loan with a big chunk of my
income, I can invest the difference elsewhere to help secure my retirement
and other future needs.
    Not that this is easy; our economic system promotes assumptions like
yours, and our tax system gives incentives for home ownership/investment, in
fact a massive subsidy for the real estate/construction industry. In the
long term, these facts must be overcome to make the decommoditization of
housing a viable concept, but with effort, there are ways we can whittle
away at reality.
David Mandel, Southside Park.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sharon Villines" <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>
To: <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 5:37 AM
Subject: Re: [C-L]_Maintaining affordability


> Since most cohousers (If not all) are financially and emotionally
> exhausted from 5 or more years of money and time invested to get
> projects built, the additional requirement that homes cannot appreciate
> at market rate is one that would discourage even further the
> development of cohousing. Who would do it?
>
> The theory behind home ownership is that it is a "leg up" for those who
> are willing to invest the time to care for a home -- a considerable
> commitment in time and labor, and usually limited funds. It is also the
> only investment most people make. With all the hype about investing and
> 401Ks and retirement, one's home remains the only significant
> investment for most people. Without the ability to sell at market rates
> they have nothing except social security and pension funds (that are
> not under their control and thus offer tenuous security).
>
> As one form of social and economic development, cohousing has the
> ability to help low income households build financial security by
> offering them the same supports -- and risks -- of other households.
>
> Before people invest either time or  money in  shelter, they have to
> have occupancy guarantees. Ownership is the best way to do this. Once
> you limit ownership and  the rights and opportunities that go with it,
> you also limit investment of time and  money on the part of the
> occupants.
>
> Experience with various forms of rent control, subsidized housing,
> etc., has not been good. Rather than limiting ownership or trying to
> control markets, the better alternative would seem to be in
>
> 1. developing building materials and methods that allow homes to be
> built inexpensively,
> 2. allowing smaller homes (often a zoning issue)
> 3. focusing developments on less expensive designs such as apartments
> as opposed to lot development with free standing homes.
>
> Sharon
> -----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list
> Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org  Unsubscribe  and other info:
> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L

_______________________________________________
Cohousing-L mailing list
Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org  Unsubscribe  and other info:
http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L