Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Development Phase

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 19 Sep 2011, at 5:19 PM, R.N. Johnson wrote:

> On the other hand, for those who do not enjoy details or are not in a 
> position to risk the time and money needed to get a community up and running, 
> joining later on allows them to live in community with a smaller time and 
> money "price tag". 

But one problem here is attracting people who don't want to do the work of 
developing and maintaining the community activities and facilities once they 
are moved in either.

1. It would be better to divide the tasks so people can focus in the tasks they 
like — social, governance, facilities — so they begin from the start to make 
room for cohousing in their lives. Not everyone is interested in the same 
things but they do need to participate in making cohousing cohousing. Otherwise 
they will live there as if it were a regular condominium.

2. I think people who join early should get bigger discounts than 5% or 
whatever. They do a humungous amount of work just to get the project off the 
ground and should be compensated for this. The early people can spend at least 
10-20 hours a week for months and months, even years, before construction is in 
sight. No one knows until they have done it how much work this is. Yes, they 
love it, but people get paid for work they love. Others shouldn't take 
advantage of them just because they are willing to take the risk.

3. We had tensions over people who moved in 2 years after we built and paid 
market prices which were considerably more than we paid pre-construction. We 
prices set, signed contracts to buy, and deposits made before construction at 
prices that were 3 years lower than the neighborhood, which was going through 
the big boom. We were taking a financial risk, but more than that, had more 
time invested. 

Then the first two years took major work with establishing social 
relationships, learning how to run a condominium, and figuring out how to 
maintain the facilities. People who come later take all this for granted 
because they see things the way they are and they look "normal." They didn't 
see the mud on what is now the green or the chaotic day the city came asking 
for a check for $2,000 on the spot. Or the floods in the living room because 
the sprinkler system hadn't been installed correctly. 

Getting real about financial compensation for those early years also makes a 
project affordable for those who develop it. People who could not otherwise 
afford to live there can level the playing field by starting their own project 
with sweat equity.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org