Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Dues Question

[Eileen McCourt (emccourt]

Oak Creek Commons has loaned money from our affordability fund to one of our
members at a low rate of simple interest being handled like a line of credit
- an initial sum went to cover outstanding personal debt and a monthly sum
equal to dues is added to the debt and transferred from our affordability
fund to the HOA each month for the next 10 months, when the interest and
principal are due. This takes the heat off the HOA for operating expenses
having to be borne by the entire community.    (The total amount loaned to
this member is approx 8K.)

We raised $150,000 from our members during construction to create an
affordability fund.  The bulk of this money went to help one of our members
purchase an affordable home, 45% of which is owned in an equity share
arrangement with the resident and the HOA. The affordability fund is managed
by a board of directors and has applied for non-profit status so that we can
solicit additional funds from the community to meet future short term needs
of our community members.  When non-profit status is achieved, the equity in
the "permanently affordable" home will be transferred to the non-profit.

Eileen McCourt
Oak Creek Commons Cohousing
Paso Robles, CA

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Villines [mailto:sharon [at] sharonvillines.com] 
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 6:52 AM
To: Developing cohousing - collaborative housing communities
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Dues Question


On Oct 29, 2004, at 9:11 AM, Robert Heinich wrote:
> However, members who are behind in their payments have stopped talking 
> to our treasurer and the treasurer feels personally blamed when he 
> tries to collect dues from individuals.  How do your communities 
> handle this situation? How do you manage this as a private/public 
> issue? How do you respect privacy without letting one individual take 
> all the responsibility & heat?

We haven't had this problem at Takoma Village so I'm speaking from 
personal experience.

The association has to be very specific about the fees owed and take 
steps to protect yourself without animosity. Your bylaws should state a 
process for non-payment and for late payment. The addition of interest 
from the 15th day for late payment, and legal action as well as 
interest on non-payment. You should talk to your lawyer.

This can be very difficult for other homeowners who have to absorb the 
expense. In the end, the homeowner's association can put a lien on the 
unit so when it is sold, the association is repaid before the seller 
receives their money. Concern is often placed with the person not 
making payments for personal reasons, but the other homeowners are 
equally affected so the sympathy has to be shared.

Last week in connection with maintenance in cohousing, someone said, 
"Asphalt is asphalt." Well, money is money.

Another solution if this is a temporary employment problem is for 
another member to make a personal loan but if this is done, it is 
strictly a personal decision and done between the two people, not the 
association. We did this when we had to go to contract suddenly and 
some of us had money still in securities that was not available with 5 
days notice. We had formal written agreements that we helped write and 
get signed, but the obligation was between the person loaning the money 
and the person borrowing it -- not the group.

Some communities have talked about having an emergency fund to cover 
such instances so individual homeowners "in distress" have community 
support but I'm not sure this has actually been done in a cohousing 
community.

Sharon
-----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org

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