Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: affordable housing

[Brian Bartholomew (bartholomew.brian]

 > I wonder about the practice in Chinese communities in NYC of a group
> loaning their money to one person to build a business. Then that
> person pays back the money so the second person can start a
> business. Thus there are two people loaning to the central fund. The
> process goes faster as more businesses are established. Eventually
> everyone is established.

Maybe if you went with the old lending guidelines, which meant that
the breadwinner could lose their job or break a leg and still make
payments on their house. And if the mortgage was for 5 years, not 30.

You could trade labor, too, in the form of house-raisings. We'll help
you assemble your kit house if you come help with ours later.

| The fund would be ONLY for young professional singles/couples and
| young families who cannot "quite" make the grade for a commercial
| bank mortgage.

Ordinary mortgages are sold allowing the borrower to overcommit, with
the bank expecting to profit from penalties and forfeits rather than
interest. Adding additional loans makes it tragic. Maybe a sound
borrower will borrow half of what the bank will lend them?

 Brian