Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: rental cohousing?

[melanie griffin (melgrif]

it certainly depends on the area, but here in new jersey $700 might get you
a room in a house, but not an apartment of any size. The west coast and
urban parts of the east coast are even more expensive. I am planning to sell
my house in a year or two and have considered taking some long-term (3 mo to
a year) rentals in cohousing while the group I'm working with here builds. I
have assumed that for even a small place on either coast I'd pay $1200 or
more, $1000 inland. But that still seems like a deal, since a cohousing
rental is much more than one's living space, in that it usually has onsite
workout space (saving $30-50 a month for a gym membership), laundry (saving
initial investment and utilities), guest rooms (at least $100 a month for an
extra bedroom in a rental) and common dining, living, and meeting spaces
(probably unquantifiable).
Melanie

On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 10:43 AM, Naomi Anderegg <naomi_anderegg [at] 
yahoo.com>wrote:

>
> I, too, would be interested in renting into co-housing if it was an option.
> But
> most existing cohousing seems a bit grandiose for my tastes/price options.
> Here
> is about the type of apartment I would be looking at if looking for an
> apartment: http://www.selectmyspace.com/rent/v/65/4th-ave-s . It's
> $575/month.
> Kind of smaller than what I'd consider absolutely ideal--since I grew up in
> a
> huge space--but it would meet our needs and not cost too much to heat/cool
> and
> be easy to fill up with furniture and stuff & keep me from having too much
> furniture & stuff. Honestly, I wouldn't be willing to go more than
> $700/month
> for a 2 bedroom cohousing rental option of the same quality/size in the
> same
> area. I'm just wondering how many people are out there looking for rental
> cohousing and what they would be willing to pay per month for it? I've
> thought
> about buying a small apartment building to convert into all-rental or
> rent-to-own-condo-style cohousing & am wondering, quite frankly, if it
> would be
> a good investment.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Naomi
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Kate Ben-Ami <ednavaleria24 [at] gmail.com>
> To: "cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Sent: Wed, February 2, 2011 5:27:12 PM
> Subject: [C-L]_ MY economic times
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 2:05 PM, R.N. Johnson <cohoranda [at] yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > We don't have a set limit on how many units can be rented, but do
> > have a two year limit on how long you can rent a unit out.? We have
> > a couple of long term renters, one a roommate to a home owner and
> > one living in part of the common house. Both participate in the meal
> > rotation, and one is an enthusiastic participant in the community
> > garden. In my experience, involved renters stay long tern, and
> > uninvolved renters tend to move on. I would put in my two cents for
> > loosening the policy and not worrying too much about it beyond
> > encouraging people to find renters who are interested in
> > participating. ? I? also suspect that a two year limit is going to
> > reduce renters' investment in the community.? If the community is
> > solid, you are not going to be taken over by absentee landlords. we
> > are all doing what we can to make it through these hard times.
> > Randa Johnson
>
>
> >
>
> My name is Kate Ben-Ami. I have posted here before, seeking a rental
> apartment in a cohousing community. I have first hand experience with
> these  hard times.
>
> I lost my county job in August 2009. In March 2009, I had just paid
> $26,000 into the county's new defined benefit pension plan. I had
> planned to work until 2016.  Thus, having little cash reserves on hand
> when I lost my job, I had to declare Ch. 7; whose primary effect has
> led to the foreclosure of my condo on December 11, 2011.  Fortunately,
> I am receiving a monthly pension and medical insurance, which only
> came about after I filed an age discrim. complaint against the county
> with the MI DEPT OF CIVIL RIGHTS.   I was already in Ch. 13 (when I
> lost my job) as the court awarded my former  husband $1000 a month in
> alimony and $34,000 of my then 401(k) in the divorce.
>
> I have been interested in COHOUSING for about twenty years or so. I
> tried to get my husband interested when we married in the early '90s
> as neither of has/had any family. He did not like the idea. I
> persevered (never expecting to divorce him), reading what I could
> find. After the divorce, I fully expected to buy into COHOUSING.
> However, as the financial assaults began to take their toll: the crash
> of 2008, the 95% loss in the value of my condo (169K purchase price in
> late 2005 to assessed value of $7,000 in 2009), loss of my 100k
> job....that dream turned into a daydream.....
>
> I think you can see what I'm driving at...I went to the COHO
> conference in Boulder last summer where I talked to a lot of great
> folks and revelled in all the possible cohousing communities. I was
> surprised that there were not many rental opportunities, although I
> understood that it'll take time for the COHO community to realize the
> complete paradigm shift that has occurred in this country.
>
> I want to rent an apartment in a cohousing community. With  few job
> job prospects (as I'm now overqualified!!!!), I am putting my energy
> into finding a COHOUSING community in which I can become involved in
> giving and sharing with my fellow coho-ers. I plan to live there a
> long time and contribute as much as I am able to.
>
> I think that living in an apartment building where few people speak to
> each other and twice a year we have a get-together, is a inhospitable
> place for  humans to grow, let alone thrive.
>
> I would like to move into a COHOUSING rental between mid April and the
> first of May.  The deadline by which to redeem my property is May 11,
> 2011. Not only do I not have the money, I wouldn't want it back.
> >
> On behalf of other people out here who NEED to rent, have plenty to
> contribute and want to become 100% invested in making co-housing a
> great place for people to thrive;  I encourage you to review your
> rental policies and make them more welcoming to those of us who've
> lived through  the housing and economic paradigm shift and are trying
> to adjust to it's long term fallout. We have a lot to contribute and a
> strong commitment to co-housing.
>
> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING TO ME.
>
> Kate Ben-Ami
> 313-468-3289
>
>
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