Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: reserve study for smallish is community

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Aug 31, 2007, at 8:03 AM, Ruth Hirsch wrote:

> We originated as a Cohousing community of 12, now--and this may be  
> our final number--16 households.[snip] We're not sure a  
> professional Reserve Study would do it better than we would do it  
> ourselves. Are we missing something?

It really depends on the amount of "common-interest" ,meaning  
commonly owned, property and the complexity of that property. If you  
are 16 houses with no commonhouse, you have little building  
infrastructure held in common.

The theory of the replacement reserve is that you want the people who  
are using the facilities today to pay for their share of replacement  
costs that will occur in 20-50 years. You want to be sure to have the  
money in reserve to pay for new sidewalks, internet cables,  
playground equipment, roofs, and walls.

Without adequate reserves, your commonly held properties are  
declining in value because the new owners will have to pay for a roof  
replacement. With reserves, the new owners will not be facing an  
assessment for roof replacement.

As a resident who plans to stay in my cohousing condo unit "forever"  
I want to be sure that when the roof has to be replaced, I'm not  
facing a huge assessment.

A formal reserve study is your best tool for convincing people that  
the reserve deposits need to be higher -- which is usually the case.  
People don't want to save money -- an American reality. A reserve  
study is not only the best way to ensure your personal future, but to  
convince those with whom you are commonly invested to protect your  
future as well.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
http://www.sociocracy.info