Budgeting for Development, Songaia

[Marganne Meyer]

I'd like to draw your attention to a new article published on the cohousing.org web site entitled "Budgeting for Development: Finding the Balance between Hope and Caution" by Chris ScottHanson

http://www.cohousing.org/cm/article/budget

I don't think he is a member of this list. If he is a member, I hope this post will bring him into the discussion. If he isn't, I will try to solicit him directly as I think he could add a lot to our conversation.

In this article, Chris tries to answer the questions: "Why does our project have to cost so much? Why is our budget so high?"

I learned a bit more about how you balance the different sections and stages of development to control costs. What I couldn't figure out is if he has taken the small house movement into consideration.

In the Songaia Cohousing project in Bothell, Washington, I read that they are trying to purchase land that surrounds the existing project, developing them in 'nodes' to suit specific needs. The first one mentioned was 'aging in place'. I've written to Songaia (or NewEarthSong) for more details about how this is being accomplished and if there are people involved in developing a 'node' aimed at low-cost housing. I'll let you know what I hear from them.

Since Bothell is basically a suburb of Seattle, yet is rural, this project might be of interest to those of you who must live within commuting distance for a job.

Cheers!

Marganne

[Sharon Villines]

I read somewhere recently that the reason that housing has become so
expensive is that land is so expensive.

I haven't had time to check figures and adjust them for inflation, but
it makes sense. There is much less of it because there are so many
more people, and cars. And some people are building houses that are so
much bigger.

An average house for a family of 4 in the 1950s is now a very small
house.

And then add the things that most people never had -- more than one
bathroom, air conditioning, wiring for television, etc.etc.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
http://www.sociocracy.info

[William Kastrinos]

Sharon,

If cost is your bottom line, I have someone who is trying to get us to move our operation to Nebraska. He states houses go for $25,000. You cannot build anything for $25,000. It may not be a good investment, but if you are on a fixed income, it is one way to beat the game.

Set aside some money for down jackets, generators, and down comforter though :)

Bill

[Sharon Villines]

On Oct 1, 2008, at 8:51 PM, William Kastrinos wrote:

> If cost is your bottom line, I have someone who is trying to get us
> to move our operation to Nebraska. He states houses go for $25,000.
> You cannot build anything for $25,000. It may not be a good
> investment, but if you are on a fixed income, it is one way to beat
> the game.

I'm not in the market to move -- unless the economy tanks completely.
I'm "retired" meaning I have lots to do but little of it is income
generating. At 55 I traded income for free time. So I'm living off my
401k fund, and not looking at it's rapidly diminishing value right now.

I live in Takoma Village Cohousing and write on sociocracy, cohousing,
and related topics, plus a few other things.

Yes, already built housing is MUCH cheaper than built housing.
Particularly right now. Less than 10 years ago, you could buy a condo
in Florida for $16,000. In small towns you can find big houses for
very little. But you have to have an income that is not geographically
determined, or be in a field where there are jobs everywhere.

One of those jobs is teaching. There are schools everywhere that need
teachers. Nursing is another. And technical skills like auto-repair,
carpentry, etc.

With computer based contacts, many people are moving to rural areas
and small towns. A small town is more affordable because you don't
have to drive to shop for food, etc.

When I lived in Iowa, many extended family members migrated to
California. A similar situation exists in Fort Meyers, FL. One person
from a family relocates, then another, then another, etc. Families
from Mexico do the same thing to the US. They all go back for family
celebrations in Mexico and keep close contacts there.

So choosing a place to go and gradually bringing your friends with you
is a good way to achieve a cohousing like community without the
expense and difficulty of building from scratch.

I recently went online to compare places to live and chose my fall
back location -- Norman OK. I was born in OK, the cost of living is
much lower than DC, and it's a university town so I would have the
intellectual community I need. Learning is my thing. Any new idea is
interesting. Even an old idea.

The website to use to compare places is:

http://www.bestplaces.net/

They have all the statistics. You can compare temperatures, incomes,
job possibilities, housing, taxes, median income, age span, etc.

I knew an artist who had settled in a small town in upper New York
State when he graduated from college. Instead of going to New York
City to be a starving artist, he took a job teaching and bought a big
Victorian house for nothing. His friends all laughed at him. Upper New
York State is very rural and very conservative.

He was not in the center of things but he could walk to work, had a
sabbatical every 5 years, and could retire at half salary in 20 years.
On his sabbaticals, he traveled the world and painted. At 45, he had a
reputation as a landscape painter and a unique, broad market since he
was painting landscapes from all over the world. His house was worth
many times what he paid for it. If he wanted to move, he could.

His friends were still living hand to mouth and many no longer painted.

Another friend now lives in Dancing Rabbit in Missouri. It's an off
the grid community where people live very cheaply and simply. They
have composting toilets, grow most of their food, burn used cooking
oil in their cars, etc. One person there lives on $4,000 a year. He
lives in a tent but has access to a kitchen, bathrooms, etc. He can
move his tent anywhere.

This is the stuff to consider if you want to live on a low income. I
do it by having a home I love -- I'm a cocooner. I dislike traveling
so I avoid that expense. I don't have a car. My major expenses are my
computer which I keep up to date and cable television so I have access
to news and non-commercial programming.

I have no need for a cell phone or "work clothes". I buy a lot of
books but have gotten myself into the habit of checking the library
first. I'm also working to get the city library to do interlibrary
loan outside it's own system so I can borrow a wider variety of books.
Public libraries tend to have only popular books.

If I go out to eat, I do it at lunch time when meals are more likely
to be half-price. I have a NetFlix subscription so I rarely go to
movies. A subscription is about the cost of one film and I can see
dozens, including documentaries, every month.

A long message but I hope it is helpful to someone considering
alternatives.

Sharon Villines
Save Our Planet; it's the only one with chocolate!

[Michael Janzen]

Here is a guy building legally on the cheap:
http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2008/09/28/tiny-house-success-story-in-the-news/

-Michael

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http://www.michaeljanzen.com