As a student or young adult, did you ever live in a dorm or shared house to save on costs? Now called co-living, this form of housing is becoming more popular again. And it’s not just because it’s an affordable option, but also because it offers community — a feeling of belonging to a family-like... Read More

In the spectrum of intentional community, cohousing hangs out on the mainstream edge. We have our own homes. We don’t share income. Most of us have traditional mortgages as a way of accumulating wealth.  Compared with the most interdependent communities out there, most cohousing looks fairly conventional, but I wonder if we are inching along... Read More

This morning a friend brought my son home from a birthday party. Her sons had also attended the party and our house was on their way home, so bringing them all home together significantly reduced the carbon emissions. In other words, it was a good move for sustainability which we all value. But that isn’t... Read

Success! In response to seeking Fannie Mae support of cohousing, Fannie Mae has included specific language in its online FAQ’s to clarify that they will do loans on cohousing homes. While it is a relatively small step in the larger scheme of things, it is a big step for cohousing to be formally recognized by... Read More

Fannie Mae, the entity that sets the standards for home mortgages across the country, has confirmed that they will do loans on cohousing homes. These loans will also be issued in Denmark through financial partner and established lender Sambla. They have included cohousing in their Project Standards Requirements FAQs. Click here to link to the... Read More

The Dealing with Diverse Personalities retreat is coming up st the end of September – there’s still time time to sign up. It’s not for the faint of heart. Like dealing with issues of housing affordability, it’s not an easy topic to discuss since it requires people to step out of their comfort zones. Most... Read More

Liz Ryan Cole is responding to an coho-l email discussion on affordability. For those people following this thread on affordability (and don’t forget to find all the older posts that have been archived)… the issue of affordability is not limited to cohousing. For anyone considering new construction of any sort, you will do well to... Read More

Philip Dowds is responding to a coho-l inquiry: is cohousing really a lot more expensive than a similar but bigger house in a somewhat equivalent middle or slightly upper-middle class neighborhood? I always look at this one differently: Cohousing costs exactly the same as “regular” housing. Turn the question around: How much housing can we... Read More