Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: making cohousing affordable (Re: Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 252, Issue 20)

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Another excellent post by Philip on the hurdles to be overcome in creating a 
cohousing community. Everything true and concisely explained. 

But if we are going to change the paradigm in our lifetime, we have to change 
it. 

One example of thinking about living differently is Strong Towns. I’m surprised 
in every issue about some idea for doing things differently. It was started by 
a disillusioned engineer who realized we were designing towns to do everything 
we shouldn’t be doing. Creating traffic patterns that kill people. Chasing 
government grants for infrastructure improvements that would bankrupt the city 
— how could a grant for $2 million be dangerous. Strong Towns covers everything 
from smart budgeting — what will this new park cost the city in 20 years? — to 
analysis of what a new street should be accomplishing. Is it for increasing 
revenue or for quick transportation — it can’t do both. The way the 
organization has developed is also inspirational. I can’t tell it all — trust 
me, it’s worth reading. strongtowns.com <http://smarttowns.com/> 

One way is to place limits on what you are trying to do. If the goal is to 
create housing that can be afforded with 30% of your income, how do we do that? 
30% is the amount that economists think _can_ be spent on housing and have a 
comfortable budget. In lower income households 50% is more realistic and for 
many 75% is the reality. If you take your current income as a given, which is 
more realistic than expecting to double your income to pay for borrowed money, 
what can you afford and still afford to have non-working time in your day, have 
the upgraded personal technology that is important to you (computers, music, 
TVs, cars, etc.) 

When you know what that number is, you need to figure out where and how you can 
find housing that allows you to do that. What else do you need to forgo to 
avoid the economic pressures? Do you care about season tickets to the theater? 
Dinner at top restaurants? Travel? Do you want to see the world? Fashion plate 
clothes? Obviously, everyone knows these are the things to do, but working with 
an actual number is helpful. It grounds you in evidence-based knowledge. 

Another way to understand this information is to extend it over a lifespan. 
Where do you want to be at 50 or 80? This gets into the questions raised about 
reserve studies — how can they be accurate? They are just estimates based on 
guesses, but in fact, they aren’t. The reserve study practice has been 
developed over time, tested, and retested. It isn’t perfect in predicting the 
future but its better than not planning at all.

One way of reducing the costs of living in cohousing is to consult with a 
building manager or construction company manager about the maintenance costs 
required by various design features — ceiling fixtures that require a lift to 
change the bulbs, stairway surfaces that have to be refinished over and over, 
etc. The answers are not always obvious. 

When I say “tiny houses” I mean 'tiny living spaces.” One issue with attached 
units is natural light and “ear space.” Tiny indoor spaces feel less tiny when 
there are windows to the outside. I have a balcony that I rarely ever use. But 
being able to see the space with pots for plants extends the feeling of 
spaciousness of my unit, even when I have no plants growing in them.

More square footage costs money because it is space that has to be heated and 
cooled to be used and even when they aren’t used. Houses were not designed open 
plan when they were heated with fireplaces. Rooms and second floors could be 
closed off and not heated in the winter. 

There are lots of variables. The problem is finding enough people who share 
similar goals. Although the New Yorker had an article on a faculty member at 
NYU who was living off the grid in an apartment within walking-distance of a 
highly populated urban area.

I know this seems like utopian thinking to many people, but everything that 
exists was utopian before it was realized.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines, Washington DC

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