Cohousing-L Mailing List: Looking to rent, etc.

[John Leet (jwleet]

Marsha -

Your comments on the cohousing list caught my attention.

Having community is more important than location, and each of us differ in our 
preferred location factors. 

One of my requirements for a place to spend the rest of my life (I am 68) is 
that it be sunny and warm in the winter.  I cannot handle Seattle winters any 
more, and have been working to create cohousing in Panama.  For various 
reasons, we have given up on that dream and have been concentrating our efforts 
in the Southwest, including Arizona.  May I ask why  you are excluding those 
areas?  They, and Florida,  are the only states that are warm and sunny enough 
for me in the winter. 

My wife and I have been developers in the states, and I think I understand the 
cost issues.  Regulations force the developer or developing cohousing community 
to meet certain standards.  Size definitely drives up the cost.  We believed we 
could build a community with 1000 ft homes and a 4000 ft common house with a 
pool and lots of land for less than $175,000 each in a community of 25 homes.  
In the states, standard construction for such a community, would probably 
double the costs. I believe that good development practices could cut that 
costs by 25%, but not more.  

In our search, we have found that some mobile home parks and RV communities 
have many of the physical and communal attributes of cohousing.  They are also 
much less expensive.  We are searching for a park that we can make into a 
cohousing community.  The emphasis would be on creating a good common house and 
enhancing the community participation.  We would also change the ownership 
structure so that members could own their own site, as well as their mobile 
home or RV, and share in the ownership of the common house and other common 
land.

I would love to hear more of your thoughts.  We are looking for people who want 
cohousing for a reasonable cost. 

John Leet