Steps to Becoming a Member and Purchasing a Home in PSCHA
This is a two-tiered process involving:
- Familiarizing yourself with and developing an interest in purchasing the specific home that will be offered for sale.
- Familiarizing yourself with the overall nature, intentions and formal agreements of the community and developing an interest in joining.
- View the home being offered for sale, tour the community, chat with existing neighbors, develop a feel for what living here is all about, explore any specific questions you have about the home you’re considering purchasing, along with any general questions you have about the community.
- Once you’ve established a genuine interest in both the home being offered for sale and the prospect of becoming a member of Pine Street Cohousing, schedule a social event/meeting with the community as a whole to get further acquainted and ask additional questions.
- Review Condominium Documents/Supplementary Bylaws/Dues Structure, etc. These will be sent electronically for you to review prior to the social gathering referred to above. A community member will be assigned as a specific contact person for any questions you may have regarding the bylaws and/or other aspects of community life.
- Write a letter of intent stating your desire to join the Community and move forward with an offer on the home. This should contain a brief descripton of who you are as a household and what draws you to the idea of living in Cohousing, along with a statement of your financial readiness to complete the purchase (as in being pre-approved for a mortgage and ready to make an offer).
- Community members will meet to review any letters of intent that have been received and then bring prospective buyers forward to the seller.
- The seller will officially offer the home for sale to potential buyers who have completed the steps to membership. Negotiations regarding asking price and offer, time line, conditions of sale, etc., take place entirely between the buyer and seller. The community is not part of the house sales process, only the membership recruitment process.