Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: helping owners sell

[David Heimann (heimann]

Hello John and everyone,

        We at JP Cohousing do much of what folks have described earlier:

o  Maintaining an interest list, which we notify when a unit becomes 
available.

o  Having a marketing maven (or several) who helps the seller and the 
various prospects through the process.

o  Having information on what banks have given what mortgages to our 
various buyers.

o  Getting the word out, in addition to the interest list, to places such 
as local "sympatico" organizations, local newspapers, and Cohousing-L (of 
course!).

o  Having residents get the word out to organizations that they belong to.

o  Having several open houses, with residents volunteering to staff them.

o  Having several site tours, with resident volunteers.

o  Prospective buyers need to visit us at least once (possibly for a 
meal), and come to at least one General Meeting.

o  We have a "clearness process" for a committed buyer, which is similar 
in concept to the Quaker clearness process.  The buyer meets with a 
clearness committee consisting of several volunteer residents.  In the 
meeting, several questions are addressed, including:

	*  Does the buyer understand what they are getting into by joining 
a cohousing community, especially ours?

	*  Does the buyer understand that there are work obligations such 
as attending General Meetings, being active on at least one committee, and 
putting in at least a defined amount of work (current 4 hours) a month?

        *  Does the buyer understand what consensus decision-making is?

	*  Has the buyer read through the condominium documents (which 
include a lot of the above), and agree to them?

	*  What can the buyer offer us as a community member, and what 
can we as a community offer the buyer?

	*  After this discussion is complete, do you want to go forward 
with the sale?  (Notice that we have no up or down approval decision; the 
prospective buyer self-selects.  Notice also that having said that we do 
have a right of first refusal that we have never yet used.)

o  The formal process of an offer sheet, purchase and sales agreement, 
mortgage financing, and closing is between the seller and the buyer

Regards,
David Heimann
Jamaica Plain Cohousing


> -------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 10:52:27 -0700
> From: John Goldberg <johngoldberg [at] hotmail.com>
> To: Cohousing dot org Listserv <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: [C-L]_ Helping owners sell
>
> I would like to know what other Cohousing communities do to help sellers 
> when they want to sell their homes.


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