Cohousing-L Mailing List: Income levels, jobs and stability

[don i arkin (shardon5]

Hi,  I am very much in sympathy with Guy's goals but I believe that he
and other responders are focusing on the wrong points because Rob was not
clear enough in some of his points.  I would agree that mortgage
requirements screen out many people that Guy would agree were
dysfunctional.  I believe that Rob would agree that they also screen out
many people that Rob would be happy to share a community with.  I think
Rob would also agree that plenty of dysfunctional people do qualify for
mortgages, so that is not a perfect screen.  
        There are communities that exist or are envisioned (such as
Guy's) that are willing to forego the mortgage screen and do what is
necessary to create a vibrant happy community without the dual-edged help
of the mortgage screen, but they demand a lot more work than the others. 
This extra work probably shortens their histories.  Other writers have
touched on the scope of this work which includes battling the authorities
governing building codes and insurance, psychological or process work for
cooperation challenged residents, and  the physical work and time
requirements of actual construction,  The vast majority of residents of
this country are not willing to do this work.  Many are not willing to
put in the lesser amount of effort required for a successful "standard"
cohousing community.  
        I wish Guy and others with similar goals much success but
unfortunately I do not believe that their successes will make much of a
difference for the overall housing situation in our country, while I
believe that "standard" cohousing can improve the living situation for
many.  I definitely am unhappy with the high costs of cohousing in
general.  As a member of Sonora cohousing, I waged a several year,
largely losing battle to keep our construction costs lower.  The reasons
for my defeats are complex but mainly have to do with the prevailing
American consumer mindset (bigger and more expensive is better?) along
with the developer's and contractor's inherent biases towards more
expensive projects.  
        One last caveat for those looking to prevent home prices from
appreciating.  For home owner/residents, appreciation is not "profit". 
Instead it is the freedom to someday move to another piece of real estate
that has presumably also been appreciating.  
 Don
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