Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: right of first refusal

[Mac Thomson (mac]

On Oct 13, 2006, Lynn Nadeau wrote:
> As market-rate cohousing (legally a mutual-benefit nonprofit with a  
> HOA),
> RoseWind  (Port Townsend WA) is vulnerable to resales that could go to
> people who are not seeking community. We work hard to facilitate  
> interest
> expressed via email, visitors, etc. We do our best to have a  
> "supply" of
> interested parties, should a resale come available.
>
> AND our experience is that in many cases the people who are leaving  
> are the
> least concerned with getting the "right" buyers. Maybe they are  
> leaving
> because they don't like it here; maybe they like it but have to  
> move because
> of work or family obligations, and need to get the money from house  
> #1 to
> pay for house #2 elsewhere, as soon as possible.

We don't have any provision for a right to first refusal, but what we  
do have is a pretty well defined membership process.  The core of it  
is our Prospective Member Checklist, which requires anyone wanting to  
become a member to complete various requirements which are all  
designed to help ensure that the prospect is thoroughly familiar with  
Heartwood and has contemplated well their decision to move here.  Our  
membership process is completely self selecting, but we want  
prospects to be making a well considered decision, rather than an  
impulsive decision perhaps based on some kind of "Wow, we've found  
utopia"  first impression.  Because as we all know, life in cohousing  
is good and often great, but it's not utopia -- and it's not even  
good for some people.  Ideally, we'd like those people to figure it  
out before making their decision.

I don't think our Prospective Member Checklist is legally  
enforceable, which I guess could leave us vulnerable in some rare  
situations.  Our experience is that members choose to follow the  
agreements we make together because of our mutual compact with each  
other to create this community.  This has held true even for members  
who are leaving because the neighborhood didn't work for them.

The other big safety net piece for us is that no one visiting  
Heartwood could ever mistake it for a "normal" neighborhood.  We've  
got 24 homes along pedestrian pathways clustered on just a few acres  
set within 360 acres of open space.  Nobody develops rural property  
that way except folks wanting to live in community.  Anyone not  
wanting to live in community would recognize immediately that  
Heartwood was not for them.  This might not be true of the site  
design for all cohousing neighborhoods (i.e., it is immediately  
obvious that it's an intentional community), but it is of ours.

To see our Prospective Member Checklist and Membership agreements:

http://www.heartwoodcohousing.com/AGREEMENTS/MEMAP.html
http://www.heartwoodcohousing.com/AGREEMENTS/MEMBER.html

Cheers,
Mac

--
Mac Thomson

Heartwood Cohousing
Southwest Colorado
http://www.heartwoodcohousing.com


 "Sometimes too much of a good thing is wonderful"
                      - Mae West
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