Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Seeking Examples of Cohousing Implementation Plans

[Chris Terbrueggen (christopher402]

Thanks Katie Henry . This is a great starting point . Our board members have 
been working on several of these aspects . Has anyone published a recent 
Cohousing guide on planning for move in . We are focusing on self- management 
and would like to keep our financial costs to a moderate level. I noticed that 
several people have asked this question in the list serve history.  Chris 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 7, 2018, at 3:39 PM, Katie Henry <katie-henry [at] att.net> wrote:
> 
> This is a huge question, as others have mentioned. It might help to break it 
> down into smaller chunks. 
> 
> You might consider hiring a cohousing consultant to assist with the community 
> development aspect. They'll help you define goals and timelines. Doing it 
> yourself is hard. There's a lot of wisdom out there, and it's worth paying 
> for. You didn't try to do the architecture by yourselves, did you? :-)
> 
> Here are some quick, random thoughts on my area of expertise, large 
> multi-family building management.
> 
> The Community Associations Institute is a good resource for legal and 
> financial guidance. They have state and local chapters.
> https://www.caionline.org/pages/default.aspx 
> 
> Katie Henry
> 
> ------------------
> 
> Will you hire a management company or self-manage?
> 
> Either way, there are maintenance contracts that need to be in place at 
> move-in. Find out from your project manager who is installing this equipment, 
> and call the company.
> 
> 1. An elevator maintenance contract, plus the service that monitors the 
> emergency phone, plus a company or a community member to coordinate the 
> regular inspections (or however it's handled in your jurisdiction). 
> 
> 2. Do you have a central fire alarm/sprinkler system? There will be a service 
> contract, plus more phone lines for the monitoring service, plus inspection 
> requirements.
> 
> 3. Any other contracts -- cleaning, landscaping, trash hauling, HVAC, 
> extermination, snow plowing, laundry equipment, building access (key 
> fobs/card readers, etc.), cable/internet?
> 
> 4. Not required, but I encourage you to attend fire inspections during 
> construction and get to know your fire marshal. You can learn a lot. The 
> correct answer to anything he says is "Yes, sir. Right away." After you move 
> in, have a shift of your local firehouse over for dinner. 
> 
> ------------------
> 
> Find someone to conduct a reserve study and figure out what your reserve 
> contributions should be. The sooner the better.
> 
> Line up condo insurance.
> 
> Add up your contract expenses, the reserve contributions, and your insurance 
> cost to start planning your operating budget. Add utility costs after you 
> move in. Assume that your HOA dues will go up after move-in.
> 
> How HOA dues are calculated is always a contentious subject. By household? By 
> unit size? By number of occupants? A mix? 
> 
> Will your HOA dues have a community benefit component? (Money collected to 
> pay for things other than the usual building and legal expenses, such as 
> social activities or training.) For what and how much? Calculated by 
> household or ...? 
> 
> ------------------
> 
> How are you going to handle financial matters? (Collecting dues, paying 
> bills, managing cash, etc.) Management company, CPA, or yourselves?
> 
> A big issue that you should grapple with now -- how will you reimburse 
> community members for expenses? Please err on the side of trust. Don't make 
> it too hard for members to get things done.
> 
> 
> -------------------
> 
> How are you going to handle legal matters? A lawyer or a management company? 
> Who is creating your condo docs? 
> 
> --------------------
> 
> How will your board be set up? The basic requirements (number of members, 
> etc.) are probably defined in your condo docs.
> 
> What will the board's duties be? Entirely focused on traditional board 
> matters (legal, financial, and building)? Or also involved in community 
> affairs?
> 
> How will you select board members? This can be a BIG issue.
> 
> What characteristics do you want in board members? Warm, fuzzy people who are 
> good at dealing with conflict? Or people who can take on tasks and get things 
> done?