Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: "arm's length"

[Catya Belfer-Shevett (catya]

Thanks Craig.

        - cat

On 1/30/2009 5:42 PM, Craig Ragland wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Single Bank
>
> Songaia worked closely with a single bank for all of us who needed
> mortgages, so that bank was able to deal with us en masse. We
> therefore had a single appraiser for all of our personal mortgages.
> While we did have a few cash buyers (all older families), I don't
> really know whether that was helpful in setting prices - all three of
> them were re-models, while the other ten units were brand new
> buildings. Many, if not most, of us with mortgages have since moved to
> other banks, or private sources, as we've re-financed over the years.
>
> Valuing Common Spaces
>
> One challenging issue most of us face is getting our "unit" appraisals
> to include an appropriate share of the value of common facilities and
> land. Mortgage professionals seem to have a hard time with our common
> spaces (buildings and land). It is often far more valuable (and
> expensive) on a per-unit basis than what's available for almost all
> conventional condominiums. There are other odd-ball situations out
> there, e.g., waterfront, unusual locations, etc. - and there is
> serious money for some who do specialize. There's a lot of interest in
> cohousing among real estate professionals here in Puget Sound - how
> many have translated that interest into income is unclear.
>
> On Getting Appraisals
>
> Over the last year three mortgage professionals have called me - in my
> "official" capacity - seeking guidance/support as they make unit
> valuations.
>
> Frankly, there's not much I can share based on objective, hard
> facts... someday, we'll have the data to prove higher values. The
> interest and conversation about supporting the required research and
> analysis does seem to be increasing. Even without numbers, it does
> seem to help them feel more comfortable. This is, of course, is only
> relevant for those who explicitly acknowledge "cohousing-ness."
>
> I am (somewhat) available for other groups to use me as a resource. I
> am terribly busy on other Coho/US work. I try to leverage my time -
> supporting one-to-many projects, rather than seeking out ways to help
> on a one-to-one basis. Hiring professionals to focus on your problems
> on one-to-one basis is often wise.
>
> In community,
>
> Craig Ragland
> Executive Director
> Cohousing Association of the United States (Coho/US)
> 425-487-3550
> http://www.cohousing.org
> craig [at] cohousing.org
>
> Please consider a gift in support of Coho/US. Click here:
> http://www.cohousing.org/contribute
>
> Building a better society, one neighborhood at a time
>
> On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 8:14 AM, Catya Belfer-Shevett
> <catya [at] homeport.org> wrote:
> > Yes, that second problem is quite a challenge.  Fortunately, we have a
> > couple of cash buyers who were able to close first.
> >
> >        - cat
> >
> > On 1/30/2009 10:46 AM, Janet Kelly wrote:
> > > Hi Catya,
> > >
> > > The second problem was with appraisers, who were completely flumoxed (sp. ?)
> > > by the cohousing concept. Also, at least in Wisconsin appraisers get paid a
> > > fixed rate by the lending bank for each appraisal, so they balk at spending
> > > extra time on anything that looks unusual to them.   Here again, the first
> > > unit sold is the hardest.  My suggestion is to talk with them in detail and
> > > offer info about how your units were priced, document costs of construction,
> > > point them to other cohousing in your state.  In our case appraisers also
> > > looked at sales of local condos in projects that had some common space
> > > (although it was nothing like cohousing).  Once you have convinced one
> > > appraiser, you can use his or her name in talking to the next set of
> > > appraisers.
> > >
> > > I hope this helps some.  Please feel free to call me if you would like to
> > > talk.
> > >
> > > Janet Kelly
> > > Arboretum Cohousing -- Madison Wisconsin
> > > 608-255-7277
> > > janetkelly28 [at] gmail.com
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--
Catya Belfer-Shevett   ~   webmaster, www.cohousing.org
www.catya.org   ~   Cohousing in MA! www.mosaic-commons.org