Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Affordability?

[Rob Sandelin (floriferous]

Defining affordablity is sometimes like defining tall. It depends upon your
persective.  Cohousing is based on two premises which tend to push the
housing towards market rate, private home ownership and bank financing.
Given the costs of retail real estate development that is acceptable to
banks, the definition of affordability then is a much higher number than
otherwise.

I once did a workshop at a community called Caldera Woods in NE Washington
state. It was a community on 40 acres of semi-rural land with one legal 3
bedroom house. There was a circle of 12 other small, non-permitted
structures tucked into the woods where community members slept and kept
their clothes and personal stuff. All the plumbing, kitchen and common space
was in the house. Meals were all done as a group, and people worked at a
variety of jobs, some onsite, some offsite.  The property was owned by 3
community members outright, and about half the other members were share
holders, who had bought in shares for $1,000 which gave them access to build
themselves a hand built sleeping shelter. The structures were the property
of the community and whenever a share holder moved away the structure
stayed, and so a few of the structures were occupied by non-share holders
for a small monthly fee and work requirement. It has been several years
since I was there but if I recall corectly the cost of living there, which
included all your food and shelter was $200 a month. The house had a music
jam room, kids room, a large living room, an office and a basement shop
space.  There are many intentional communities similar to this.

This was not bank financed (although the original purchase was), and I would
say the average annual income of that group was under $12,000. And in my
brief observation, they seemed to be very happy together. So if you defined
affordable as, $1,000 with dues of $200 a year,  then this is one way to do
it. But you have to be able to have a group financier, live with non-code
structures, minimum personal space and unequal ownership. 

Bank approved, private ownership is not likely to recreate anything like
this, but there are other models of community to choose from. IC.org has
connections to hundreds of them. 



Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer
The Environmental Science School
http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm
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