Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: HOA Fees

[Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizm]

So I'm just going to suggest that many in this discussion are falling
for the "logical decision maker" fallacy. I'm pretty sure the last
Noble prize in economics was given to the guy who made the argument
that people do *not* base financial decisions on logic.

As a cohousing community that had four years of sales after move-in I
can say with some certainty that when people ask "tell me this number"
and you reply with "that number doesn't matter" they just get annoyed.
When I finally looked up HOA fees at all the surrounding condo
communities I determined that ours are way above other communities in
the area, except one, which we were still above by nearly $100 per
month.

When people asked, and I told them *that* people were much more
satisfied with the answer.

I'm not opposed to adding all the additional "ours covers this and
this" and their's covers "that and that". Or saying "we must also
discuss our values around our reserves." But in my opinion no one can
hear any of that without having their questions answered first.

Logical arguments are not the only way that decisions are made or that
people are convinced. Providing people with information they have
asked for is helpful, whether or not it is relevant from a logical
viewpoint.

Liz
Mosaic Commons Cohousing
Berlin, MA


-- 
-Liz
(The Rev.) Elizabeth M. Magill
Minister to the Affiliates, Ecclesia Ministries
www.ecclesiaministriesmission.org
www.mosaic-commons.org
508-450-0431