Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Move In Procedures?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Kudos to these planners! Makes it sound like a big job, and it is. 

Many communities wing it but this is a good list of things you will have to 
wing, all at the same time.

Sharon


> On Oct 4, 2026, at 7:18 PM, Tara Gallen via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Our Urban Village is a 13-unit building in an urban setting in Vancouver.
> We moved in three years ago. We were fortunate to get some notes from peer
> communities that helped us a lot. I've adapted a few highlights below
> (including stuff that was applicable for us and stuff that was not) and my
> own more recent notes are marked with ["ed"]. Sorry if the formatting is
> bonkers. Mazel tov for your move-in and your new community.
> 
> -Lead up to move-in:
> --Plan for the few weeks prior to closing to be wholly dedicated to just
> getting closing completed (anything non-essential should be put off) [ed:
> seriously, this - assume everyone will be bamboozled]
> --Focus of meetings
> ---Plan common space in advance - furniture, supplies, etc. - to help get
> rid of stuff in advance rather than after move-in [ed: we tried to do this
> a bit via spreadsheet and it was just too cumbersome. Suggest to focus
> effort on deterring everyone from expecting to store their unwanted big
> appliances and furniture in the CH. It's just much easier to see what's
> unwanted once you move in. We might have said 'no' to the many Instant Pots
> that came our way, and that would have been a mistake. But do make sure
> there aren't twenty dining tables people expect to put in the common
> house...]
> --Confirm parking plan (for those with cars, where will they put their cars
> and how do we minimize negative impact on our neighbours)
> -Coordinating move-in:
> -Set up a schedule for households moving in (e.g. 3-hour increments (9AM -
> 9PM) over the course of several days for move-in)
> --Identify priority moves (time-sensitivity, urgency, unstable situation,
> difficulty)
> ---Send out Excel spreadsheet for people to sign-up for slots
> --Space out storage pod deliveries and moving trucks so not all arriving at
> once
> --Check-in to ensure everyone’s needs are met
> --If possible for your household, take the pressure off moving in right
> away and do it over the course of days or even weeks
> --Secure parking spots in front of the building to ensure moving trucks can
> get in and out - block off with construction cones, etc.
> ---[Ed: One other coho offered to lend us their orange cones for use during
> move-in. We actually found it more effective to use our own vehicles to
> block the desired on-street spaces. We'd all snap up the spots the night
> before, then be ready to retrieve them right as the moving truck was
> pulling up.]
> --Set up a plan for disposal and recycling (styrofoam, recycling, garbage)
> ---Designate a spot to leave materials to be recycled
> ----Have a few people manage posting and coordinating via buy-nothing
> groups (packing boxes to give away)
> ---Designate people and timing for:
> ----Recycling depot trips
> ----Donations or buy-nothing pick-ups
> -Deficiency walk-through
> --Recommended having 1-2 people do a deficiency walk-through of every unit
> and space so commonalities can be noted [ed: The benefit of this can hardly
> be understated]
> -Security considerations
> --Risk of break-in attempts early on and during move
> ---Set up guidelines for safety and security: Don’t prop doors open
> -Tips for households preparing for move
> --Walk through the space ahead of time and identify where boxes and objects
> will need to go in advance in your unit
> --Consider painting and doing any other configuration while your unit is
> empty, i.e. before moving in (if feasible)
> --Get any built-in furniture done before moving in so it is ready for
> move-in
> --Replace standard closet fixtures with sturdier ones
> -Furnishing the common areas
> --Have teams create a wishlist of what is needed for each space, so
> everyone packing/down-sizing can identify items to contribute (perhaps
> sign-up to donate on a spreadsheet) [ed: see note above]
> --Designate a time/people to sort through all contributed materials after
> move-in and pack things away/organize
> --Put aside money to buy stuff but ensure you give yourself time after move
> in to get a sense of space and needs before buying new stuff
> --After a specific period (e.g. 6 months), review furnishings/items and do
> a cull of items
> --Communicate throughout to ensure everyone is aware of items being
> contributed, removed (even after move-in)
> --Set up a “buy nothing” channel in Slack for the community to exchange
> items [ed: Our Buy Nothing slack channel thrives to this day!]
> --Kitchen
> ---Reusable napkins
> ---Most dishes/equipment can be obtained for free (donated, buy-nothing,
> etc.)
> -Dealing with damage from move-in
> --May be able to have this taken care of as general building deficiencies
> process
> --Identify steps to take if there is any damage done so follow up can occur
> (e.g. who to contact, who does the contacting, etc.)
> -Community building in the early days:
> --Helpful to act as community at the very beginning (don’t wait)
> ---Setting up socials or community gatherings right away; make a commitment
> to # of meals before move-in [ed: We started meals almost right away, but
> this ended up being stressful for some of our households. Be sure that
> there isn't pressure on overstretched households to cook community meals
> while their homes are in shambles.]
> ----Avoid cutting back on meals during “slow” periods (e.g. summer) as it
> is important to continue the connection [ed: This is really important.]
> ---Common meals can be done in different ways (if not prepared to start
> cooking right away), e.g., people bringing their own dinner and eating
> together, doing a potluck, etc.
> --Common meals can also be done as meals out (pub nights) or other events
> --Communicating frequently through Slack, asking for help, borrow a cup of
> sugar, helping others, and engaging in general
> -Storage and sharing of items
> --Decide what is “donated” vs. “loaned” to the community and how these
> items are managed
> ---Examples:
> ----Some households may have items they own but open to anyone contacting
> them to coordinate borrowing
> ----Lending library for anyone to borrow and return
> ----If something is being purged from a common space, it is put in a
> designated space so whoever donated has an opportunity to take it back
> (otherwise it is disposed) [ed: yes!! This!!]
> ----Defining what it means to donate vs. loan (e.g., donation = giving up
> rights to the item)
> --Managing build-up of donated items
> ---often just dealt with on an ad-hoc basis by community members, but
> communicated with the rest of the community when it happens to get ahead of
> any issues via Slack
> ----Ensures that no individual unilaterally decides what gets removed
> -Managing storage units, bike lockers, parking spots
> --Clearly establish ahead of time what is limited and/or common property,
> which usually applies to bike lockers and parking spots
> ---Made it clear no one “owns” a spot
> ---Opens a conversation as to priority use (access considerations,
> practicalities - cargo bikes need bigger space, for example) and then
> allocated spaces accordingly
> --Consider having a designated person to manage the storage/bike lockers
> over time
> --Be mindful of where you store items (proximity to sensors or sprinklers)
> -Unexpected events or complications from move-in
> --Break-in attempts [ed: thieves take the opportunity to notice that people
> are coming and going and opportunistically sneak in. It helps that we all
> know each other, but we did keep a close eye on the front doors while
> movers were doing their thing as another coho suggested, and this helped us
> avoid most issues]
> --Delays in move-in
> ---Move-in plan may need to shift for various reasons (may get short notice
> of actual move) and impacts to temporary living situations [ed: Our
> completion/possession dates were a huge moving target for a long time. We
> heard October, then February, then finally moved in in July. It was
> extremely disorienting - some families had decamped to temporary
> accommodations because they had sold their previous homes, for example.
> Everyone felt the challenge of moving into a new home with new quirks and
> new things to figure out.]
> ---Potential causes of delays
> ----Supply chain issues of materials needed to finish build
> ----COVID-19-related site shutdowns [ed: maybe not anymore...]
> ----Labour shortage
> ----Availability of building inspector; building inspection identifies
> changes needed before occupancy permit can be issued
> ----[ed: After we got possession, an entire wall in our unit needed to be
> re-opened for the constructor to get access to the plumbing behind it
> again. Stuff happens...]
> 
> Re: Elevator: At OUV we have a LULA Lift, not an elevator. (A choice for
> cost purposes.) It's not designed for moving furniture, and the manual
> explicitly states that it shouldn't be used for that kind of thing, though
> there was lots of interest in using it for that purpose. We had to be
> explicit that the lift was not to be used for moving heavy couches and
> things. That needed to be communicated to folks' moving companies, but that
> didn't happen evenly and there was still lots of furniture being moved in
> the elevator. Nothing too bad happened but we did have some minor
> mechanical issues early on. We have only 10 units that hypothetically use
> the elevator, and not all the units were sold by move-in anyway, so our
> advance planning exercises turned out to be more critical for ensuring we
> didn't have two moving trucks out front for the same day than they were for
> booking the elevator.
> 
> Tara Gallen
> Our Urban Village Cohousing - Vancouver, BC
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 1:49 PM Fred-List manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
> wrote:
> 
>> Ann Lehman <ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com>
>> is the author of the message below.  It was posted by Fred of
>> the Cohousing-L management team <cohousing-l-owner [at] cohousing.org>
>> due to a format issue.
>> 
>> --------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------
>> Hi Folks,
>> The Berkeley Moshav is getting closer to move in. If you have move in
>> procedure, especially if yours included using an elevator can you send me a
>> copy?
>> 
>> Ann Lehman
>> ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com
>> https://zimnotes.org [zimnotes.org]
>> 510.755.5701 <(510)%20755-5701>
>> 
>> Ann Lehman
>> ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com
>> https://zimnotes.org [zimnotes.org]
>> 510.755.5701 <(510)%20755-5701>
>> 
>> Subscribe for Free ENews, ZimNotes
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