Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: site & plans = less interest in associate status

[Michael Barrett (mbarrett]

While seeking "pledges" to participate is an excellent idea, obtaining them
may be difficult.  In an ideal situation the prospective buyer has been
specifically seeking a home in cohousing, will visit with the community (not
just the home for sale) several times, stay for a community meal, attend a
meeting and perhaps stay overnight.   Realistically however the seller often
has no more legal obligation to the prospective buyer and the community than
to make the buyer aware he/she is buying into an HOA (if in fact so) and
that CCRs and Bylaws exist and are available.  Thus the community may have
to try to "catch" the buyer on the fly when visiting the community to make
their pitch for participation - which may mean an individual, by chance
seeing the prospect walking by, will need to dash out and try to engage them
in conversation.  Because the selling homeowner primarily wants a sale and
the community wants an (almost) ideal new homeowner there is likely to be at
least some (likely unspoken) tension between the homeowner and the community
over this issue.  But difficult as it may be, it is in the community's
interest to, one way or another, make the buyer very clearly aware of the
community's hopes and expectations.
And even then there are no guarantees.

Michael Barrett
Shadowlake Village - where some of us are preparing for our up-coming
community camping trip.
Blacksburg, VA


 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joelyn Malone" <JKMalone [at] comcast.net>
To: <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2009 12:13 PM
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ site & plans = less interest in associate status


> Here at Monterey Cohousing (MN) we've been at this business of living
> together for 16 years now, but still haven't solved the issue of new
> residents not seeming to be as "invested" in the community aspect of
> cohousing as some of us who helped create the place.
<cut>
We are thinking of implementing something we've seen in the membership
> process of new groups who haven't yet moved in, which is a pledge to
> honor our vision statement and actively participate in various
> activities (work requirements, meal program)
<cut>