Some questions below have not yet been decided by the group, so we have given experience from other cohousing communities.

If I live in Concord Village, will I have my own kitchen?

You may well wonder why we have put this question at the top of our list. Frankly, it is because it is the single question most frequently asked of cohousing enthusiasts. Yes, every cohousing community does have a common kitchen, but community meals are usually prepared and served in the common house only two or three times each week. Can you imagine 25 or more households each trying separately to prepare 18 or 19 meals a week in one kitchen? That would be well nigh impossible. So yes, each residence will have a fully equipped, spanking new private kitchen.


How does cohousing differ from other "intentional communities?"

Some people involved with cohousing like to describe their communities as "intentional neighborhoods," rather than "intentional communities." This is probably because the term "intentional community" frequently connotes a shared religious, political or social ideology rather than simply the desire to have much more of a sense of community with their neighbors, some of whom might be quite different from themselves. Concord Village espouses no particular ideology.

Does cohousing imply spending lots of time in long meetings?

No. Meetings are purely voluntary. Of course, the more of your time and energy you put into meetings, the more influence you will have on the communitys decisions. There will be many opportunities for you to have input on decisions. We try to make our meetings energizing, short, efficient, and fun. We make extensive use of empowered groups we call "task circles" to change from the model of long meetings to smaller groups of people who are all interested in the subject being discussed. We also are receiving training in facilitation of meetings so that they are run in the most efficient ways possible.

We'd like to live in a cohousing group just with people that's all teachers/musicians/older folks/artists/single moms/Eagles fans....

We are actively seeking diversity in Concord Village; we want to live in a community with others who are not just like ourselves.


Please tell me about common meals.

Cohousing communities usually prepare between two and four meals per week in their common house. The meals are prepared by a team of 2-4 persons for however many eaters sign up for the meal in advance. Eating common meals is always voluntary. In a few communities cooking is also voluntary, but in some cases it is not. However, there is a good deal of variation in the way the cooking (and cleanup) responsibilities are structured. Typically, however, each adult is involved in meal preparation and/or cleanup once every 4 or 5 weeks. There is also variation in how the common meals are paid for, but one only pays for the meals one eats.

We feel that common meals (even if some people's schedules permit them to attend only irregularly) are the "glue" that holds cohousing communities together. A common meal may be the only time in a busy week when we get to have a real conversation with our neighbors. And if we are lucky enough to have a little extra time for some after-dinner coffee or tea and conversation, while the kids romp around in the playroom or outside if the weather is fine, so much the better.

Many communities encourage their cooks to provide a vegetarian option at most meals, and special food requirements are respected, although not every one of them will be necessarily be accommodated at every meal.

What else is the common house for?

We envision spontaneous musical events, planned parties, a play area for children, space for discussion groups, a game room, possibly a workshop and a greenhouse, and so forth.

What about pets?

This question is one that will be answered by the group and is an example of one of the decisions that you can have input into if you wish. A pet policy will be decided upon that all members of the community can live with and all feel is fair to all.

How are people selected to be members of Concord Village?

The simple answer is that people select themselves. We presently require attendance at several regular meetings, and perhaps we will ask some involvement with a committee before a household can apply for membership. We have Inquirer and Associate memberships that require little in the way of a financial contribution but do give potential Equity members the chance to participate in the planning process and to get to know others in the group. An Equity membership requires an equity investment, all or almost all of which we intend to be eventually credited toward the final price of your house. This investment can range from a few thousand dollars up to 5% or more of the final cost of your home. These equity investments are, in a sense, a way of making your down payment on your unit in small steps, before closing.

The disadvantage of joining a group early is that your home may take a long time, not to mention energy and money, to materialize. The advantages are that the earlier you come into the group, the more opportunity you have to be a part of the design and planning. And you get an earlier place in the order in which units will be selected. Also, we are planning a financial incentive for joining the group early in the way of a discount applied to your final house price.

How is home ownership legally structured in cohousing communities?

Most cohousing communities are structured as condominiums or planned unit developments. In what is called the "lot development model," members jointly own the common property and facilities and are the sole owners of the lot on which they build their own single family house. Sometimes they own just the land directly under their homes (the footprint), or that plus a small back or front "private" yard. We havent decided on our structure yet.

What if I want to or have to move out of the community and sell my unit?

Any household leaving the community can legally sell their property to anyone they choose, but Concord Village may decide to maintain a "right of first refusal," which means that the seller must offer his or her unit for purchase by the community or to an individual or individuals within the community to match a price offered by someone on the open market. In other communities, residents sign a voluntary agreement that they will not lease or sell their unit to a person or persons who do not wish to participate fully in the community. Some communities maintain a waiting list of persons interested in being informed if a unit becomes available, and it is to the benefit of the seller and to the rest of the community if everyone lends a hand in finding new owners. When it comes to resales, experience has shown that homes in cohousing have held their value or have appreciated faster than the market as a whole.


I can't afford to (or don't want to) buy into Concord Village. Are rental units available? What about affordable housing?

In some cohousing communities a few individual households own homes with attached apartments that are available for rent or a second unit in the community that may be rented. A few communities have (or are planning) one or more units which might be shared by two or more individuals or households. In this situation the unit might be held by more than one person as joint tenants or tenants-in-common. Alternatively, one person or household could own the unit and others sharing the home would be renters. At the present time, there is no community in which the homeowner's association owns a unit and rents it out, though some communities have an apartment or two as part of the common house. In Concord Village we plan that some units will be smaller than others and therefore more affordable, and there may be some rental or other creative solutions to make participation more affordable; these decisions have not been finalized yet, and this is another place where earlier participation by people interested in this issue will carry great weight.

There may be an "affordability" option that would greatly reduce the cost of living in Concord Village. This is still being planned.

Renting residents usually have all the same rights and responsibilities as owners except in matters relating to expenditure of large amounts of money. Typically, renters are welcome to attend meetings and participate fully in discussions of community matters, but usually they cannot block consensus.

Why will Concord Village be near a small town?

This is one of our basic values. We want to be connected to the community at large. We want to discourage the use of cars. We dont want to be isolated out in the country or right in the midst of an urban area.

How large will Concord Village be, and what kinds of households live in cohousing?

Cohousing communities in North America range in size from 9 to 44 households. We have been told by experienced cohousers that cohousing works best with 25 to 40 households. Concord Village plans to have about 35 to 40 households. Cohousing attracts a wide range of household types: single people of all ages, couples and single parents of infants, toddlers and school-aged children, couples whose children are grown, young couples without children.


Is Concord Village going to be expensive?

Expensive to one person is inexpensive to another. The simplest answer to this question is first, that Concord Village is new construction, and all new construction is somewhat expensive, and second, that Concord Village will have very extensive common facilities considering the units small size relative to conventional housing complexes. Also, remember that although you are not getting a custom-built individual residence, as a group we are getting a custom-built community for our money. Many members are getting an opportunity to work more closely with the architect(s) designing their future home(s) than they ever imagined they would have. Given these factors, it is remarkable that, in most areas, cohousing units do not cost any more than other market rate housing. We estimate that our prices will be about $160,000 to $210,000 for a unit, depending on the number of bedrooms. We are doing our best to keep costs down. The cost will vary depending on the price of land.

Do costs keep going up during the development phase? Despite dire warnings from cohousing professionals about the cost of customization, there is a tendency in every group for people to plan too much customization of their private homes. Even if only some households want to customize their homes a great deal, it raises the costs for everyone. In addition, many groups have a desire to build as "green" as possible, and they are often surprised at how much additional these environmentally sound materials and building techniques can cost. We are aware of these possible pitfalls and will do everything we can to avoid costs increasing.

Where are you presently looking for land?

We are looking near Kennett Square, West Grove, West Chester (all in PA) and Newark, DE. We have not yet looked extensively in MD.

What about safety and security?

Because we know all our neighbors, we will have an excellent neighborhood watch system built into our community, since someone who does not belong in the community is very easily recognized. If your child falls off a swing when he or she is out of your immediate sight line, another adult will surely pick him or her up. There's more than one person to watch out for the property of an absent resident. "All eyes on the common areas" means that , many cohousers feel comfortable leaving their front door unlocked when they go to the common house to pick up laundry and will not require that their community be accessible only thorough a locked gate. In the areas we are looking at near small towns, we expect that safety and security will not be an issue.

What should I do next if I am interested in exploring membership in Concord Village?

Make sure we have contact information for you, come to a meeting and get to know our group.

Adapted from www.cohousing.org Much more about cohousing can be found there.