Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common costs: common house, infrastructure - how to proportion?

[Laura Fitch (lfitch]

At 09:34 AM 1/1/04, you wrote:
> Thanks to Fred and all for this wonderful list-serve resource-
>
> We are in formation and trying to figure out how contributions to the common
> costs should be divvyed up. Base it on:
> Larger individual house (sq.ft.)?

I think square footage is the only legal way to assess condo fees in 
Massachusetts.  The way Pioneer Valley used this to reflect other values 
was to assign different weights to different types of square footage.  For 
example in relative order of increasing value:  deck (5%), porch (10%), 
unfinished basement (?%), finished basement (?%), finished view-out 
basement (?%),, finished walk-out basement (?%),, unfinished second floor 
(80%), finished second floor (90%), first floor (100%).  This helped us 
deal with the huge difference in value and expandability of walk-out 
basements that were rapidly being converted into rental units.  And cape 
style houses where unfinished second floors were being finished off.

> Number of household members?

This is illegal in Massachusetts

> Altho that could change if the house changes
> hands
> Cost of individual house?
> What about renters? I guess the question then would be- who owns the rental
> unit and wouldn't the owner be responsible for that unit's share of the
> cost?
> Or are rental units owned by the community and therefore part of the common
> costs?
>
> If a house later changes hands, is that original cost added to the selling
> price of the unit?
>
>
> Linda Gluck
> "Ulster Cohousing" (or something), New York
>
>
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Laura E. Fitch, AIA
Kraus-Fitch Architects,
110 Pulpit Hill Rd.
Amherst, MA  o1002

413-549-5799
413-549-7918 (fax)

<http://www.krausfitch.com/>krausfitch.com  

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