These are select responses to Susan Adams (Jubilee Cohousing, Floyd, VA) query on Cohousing-L: What percentage of your anticipated membership did you have before you began to build your homes? From Maraiah Lynn Nadeau, RoseWind Cohousing (Port Townsend WA) How many buy-ins does it take to build? There is no universal number. It depends on... 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

[Part of the Session “How to Grow a Senior Cohousing Community,” presented at the Aging Better Together Cohousing Conference, May 2016 in Salt Lake City.] Pat and David have told you the story of how Quimper Village was imagined, initiated and marketed. David will tell you it is a whole lot easier to market the... Read More

Attached and available for download are Coho/US packages seeking FNMA and FHA-HUD support. We encourage readers to use this package if helpful; for example, cohousing groups seeking financing and may want to share with banks; communities may want to share the “state of cohousing” with media. “This very professional program and package directed to our... Read More

While it has been arguably necessary, it is also unfortunate that cohousing projects are most often sold to appraisers and banks as nothing less–and nothing more–than a condominium. You’ve cut costs and squeezed expenses, and your appraisal is still a barrier to getting a loan. It’s looking like there’s nothing left to do short of... Read More

What are some ways to encourage people to create low-income cohousing?, Suggestions: 1. Define “low income.” “Affordable” is not a euphemism for “low income.” Affordable is usually defined as 80% of the average cost of a similar housing unit in the area. That could be in the millions and still be called “affordable.” HUD’s definitions... Read More

In our quest to expand cohousing, Coho/US has long recognized two major challenges: (1) accessing financing and (2) creating more affordable models. This month, Coho/US made headway in addressing both, establishing a formal collaboration with Partnerships for Affordable Cohousing. Pooling our reach, credibility and knowledge will bolster our mutual efforts to develop and promote strategies... Read More

Off my usual topic of governance but this was a response to a question from a new community that I thought might be helpful to all new communities, and some settled ones. What should we buy of the kitchen? On small appliances: At 14 years we still have donations and have just started buying more... Read

On Cohousing-L, a member of a forming group asked a smart question: “What SHOULD we be worried about?” Philip Dowds, an architect living in Cornerstone Cohousing in Cambridge Cohousing replied:Plan on delay. Plan on surprising cost increases. Plan on flogging your way past disappointments. Your group may have to deal one or more of …internal... Read More