Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Mortgage lenders and cohousing

[Holly McNutt (holly.mcnutt]

I'm tellin' ya, it's just that coho is DIFFERENT, that why.  We know it's 
different and better, but to them it's just different.  That's all.  - h

On Aug 27, 2012, at 6:45 PM, R Philip Dowds wrote:

> 
> The interesting issue here is, Why, exactly, would a lender fear cohousing?  
> I am guessing, but I am imagining that cohousing has lower turnover, fewer 
> defaults and bankruptcies, and more reliable debt service, and rollover of 
> debt, than most developer-driven condo projects.  You'd think national Coho 
> could accumulate and process this kind of data, and it could be brought to 
> bear on loan decisions around the country.  Unless, of course, our lenders 
> are driven by ideology, and immune to information.  Could this be true?
> 
> RPD
> 
> On Aug 27, 2012, at 7:59 PM, Doug Huston <huston [at] ashlandcoho.com> wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Sure. I appreciate the sentiment and it seems congruent with many  
>> values cohousing folks are likely to have (local, anti-corporate....)  
>> and your credit union may actually be a cooperative like our local  
>> one. But will a whole community decide to stake their values to a  
>> narrower lender base, perhaps at the at the cost of increased rates.  
>> I'm not positive that the consequences would be as above, but it seems  
>> plausible. And that would be the fear.
>> I think I would be willing to thumb my nose at the powers that be by  
>> keeping my right-of-first refusal clause and narrowing options, and  
>> consider that educating them may result in changes - but am admittedly  
>> an idealist who tells himself he isn't moving anytime soon either.
>> At the national cohousing conference in June there was a presentation  
>> by Lee Bartholomew about some of these issues. If my memory serves me  
>> well, he is an appraiser and cohousing resident around Davis/ 
>> Sacramento and is working at educating folks in the real estate world  
>> to prevent some of the snags cohousers are experiencing. He is keen on  
>> obtaining data from our communities to provide research to  
>> reinforcement his message. We're lucky to have his energy and  
>> willingness. Hopefully someone will provide his info on the list serve  
>> so that cohousers having these issues can relay the info to him. I  
>> recall that he is generally trying to collect data from both good  
>> times and hard times about cohousing resales.
>> - Doug Huston
>> 
>> On Aug 27, 2012, at 4:29 PM, R Philip Dowds wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Shun the local branches of international banks.  Try to work with a  
>>> local bank, or savings and loan.
>>> 
>>> RPD
>>> 
>>> On Aug 27, 2012, at 9:14 AM, "Lautner, Patricia" <Patricia.Lautner [at] 
>>> umassmed.edu 
>>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Is anyone else having problems with lenders?  We found out recently  
>>>> that Chase has put Cohousing on a 'No Go' list and won't provide  
>>>> financing.  We recently had a sale where the buyers were turned  
>>>> down because the word Cohousing in our name apparently triggered  
>>>> what is called  a "Long Form Review" of our condo docs.  Even  
>>>> though we believe we have very standard - vanilla State of MA condo  
>>>> docs, we do have a Right of First Refusal clause, a Transfer Fee  
>>>> clause, and the guest suites are mentioned.  So far three different  
>>>> lenders site one of these mentioned clauses as reason for denying  
>>>> the mortgage (on a high income, dual income, young couple putting  
>>>> more than 25% down!)
>>>> 
>>>> I'm on the Board at JPCohousing and we're considering our options.   
>>>> Please let me know if you've had any problem like this and what  
>>>> your community is doing about it.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> 
>>>> Patti
>>>> JPCohousing, Boston MA.
>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>> 
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> 
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