Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: dealing with increasing costs and monthly dues?

[PAMELA LEITCH (info]

I know that we cohousers like to get creative with solutions. At the same time, 
acting "outside the box" can result in unintended legal or financial 
consequences.  So .. . I offer some words of caution that you may want to 
consider. 

Re: short term rentals such as Airbnb- your liability and property insurance 
may not cover that type of rental activity so double check with your insurance 
broker to make sure you have coverage if someone gets hurt or they damage your 
building.

Re: charging for not doing participation - that could run afoul of your state’s 
labor law and condominium/HOA law.  You may want to check with your local 
attorney who specializes in Association law before you proceed with this idea.

It is not talked about much but, sadly, some communities have and are facing 
those unintended results. 


Pam Leitch, JD, CMCA
HOA Coaching, LLC
hoacoaching.com <http://hoacoaching.com/>

> On Jul 19, 2024, at 11:07 AM, Patricia Bailey <editorialcaptive [at] 
> gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sylvie, in my research on the list serv, I have encountered two ideas for 
> generating funds to help keep monthly fees from going up. One is to rent your 
> guest rooms when not in use. Perhaps using Airbnb or other site. You are both 
> close to downtown for corporate visitors and close to two major hospitals for 
> traveling nurses. The other approach some have taken is charging a monthly 
> fee for hours of expected work participation that aren’t met. We are 
> currently looking at that charge being 2X minimum wage per hour in 
> Albuquerque, although our policy on work participation is not finalized yet.
> 
> Pat Bailey, Membership
> Cohousing ABQ
> 
> 
> 
>> On Jul 18, 2024, at 10:50 PM, Sylvie at Hotmail <s_kashdan [at] hotmail.com> 
>> wrote:
>> 
>> From Jackson Place Cohousing members:
>> 
>> Dear Friends in the Co-Housing world.
>> 
>> This is the Jackson Place Co-Housing community in Seattle, Washington. Our 
>> community is about 23 years old and we have 27 households, with some renting 
>> apartments or rooms to people who are not family members. We are in the 
>> midst of discussions about how to handle the increasing costs of maintenance 
>> for our buildings and landscapes. Our monthly fees per unit are going up and 
>> up and some are straining to keep up. We seem to be reaching our limits as 
>> to how much we can decrease our budgetary requirements but also do justice 
>> to maintaining our spaces and keeping a healthy reserve fund.
>> 
>> *Our question to you is this:  Are there things you are doing or have done 
>> to help to alleviate the pressures of your increasing costs? As with any 
>> brain-storming session, remember that there are no bad ideas to offer! We 
>> are all ears!*
>> 
>> We are most sincerely grateful for any responses you might offer. We can 
>> report back depending on the responses as we imagine we are not the only 
>> ones in this position.
>> 
>> Sincerely yours,
>> 
>> Jackson Place Co-Housing Community
>> 
>> Sylvie Kashdan
>> Community Outreach Liaison
>> Jackson Place Cohousing
>> 800 Hiawatha Place South
>> Seattle, WA 98144
>> 
>> https://jacksonplacecohousing.org
>> 
>> info [at] jacksonplacecohousing.org
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