CoHo Success Stories

4 WOMAN (FRIENDS, SISTERS AND EVEN A STRANGER) SHARE A COLLECTIVE HOME WITH A SUITE IN VICTORIA

Their realtor, who specializes in facilitating co-ownership arrangements, put them in touch with the younger Heather Nugent. Ms. Nugent is a 38-year-old speech language pathologist who was accustomed to communal living and was looking for co-buyers.

A month ago, they moved into an approximate 3,200-square-foot house that cost $1.3-million, and Ms. Nugent lives in the one-bedroom basement suite. On the two upstairs floors the other three women have their own living quarters with separate bathrooms, and the kitchen is shared. The plan is to get chickens and plant their own vegetable gardens.

“I could never imagine myself living in a $1-million-plus house, and it’s not even a crazy [sized] house,” Ms. Foreman said in a group video call from their Saanich home, which backs onto a park.

“The sale of my house in Calgary would not even get me a condo here,” added Ms. Faulk, who contributed the biggest down payment from the sale of her house, and as a result, pays a smaller monthly mortgage payment.

Each of them own a percentage of the property based on the share they paid upfront. They entered into a co-ownership agreement that outlines potential what-if scenarios that arise in sharing the house, including conflict and mediation, the possibility someone dies, or if someone wants to sell early, or bring in a roommate or partner. After five years, they have the option to sell the house or update the terms and enter into another agreement.

Ms. Nugent is a first-time buyer who’d previously been renting. She’s only known her three boomer-age co-purchasers since July, and says she trusted her gut when she entered into a shared mortgage with them. Today she’s paying about the equivalent of her old rent, but now she’s building equity in a house. Statistically, Ms. Nugent is part of a sizable demographic: according to a recent release from Statistics Canada, 15.3 per cent of first-time home buyers in B.C. purchased properties in groups of three or more.

“I realized rent is about as much as I can afford, and I am never going to be able to buy anything. It was a depressing experience for a long time … And all of a sudden I was able to think about buying a house and not live in a condo.”

As well, the process of buying a home was far less daunting as part of a group, she adds. And although people are often scared of sharing a mortgage with people they don’t know well, Ms. Nugent argues that because they did such careful due diligence, she thinks it’s not any riskier than going into ownership with a partner.

“I’ve had partners in the past who weren’t good with money and I would be more concerned in that scenario than I am in this scenario,” Ms. Nugent says. “The fact we have a legal agreement where we have already discussed some of the more important things that may happen, and how those may be dealt with, gives me some confidence.”

Realtor Noam Dolgin, an advocate of co-ownership, says smart buyers should indeed be wary when entering into a co-ownership arrangement. Like any business partnership, it requires due diligence. But when entered into properly, he says the benefits outweigh the negatives. Mr. Dolgin started the Collaborative Home Ownership and Development Initiative (COHO) and helped connect Ms. Nugent with the Victoria group, through Victoria realtor David Hale.

“It’s an interesting story, that these women watched themselves get priced out of the market, and they realized they needed [another buyer] to do what they wanted.

“They were able to up their budget by 30 or 40 per cent, and get into the single-family-house market they couldn’t on their own…”

“This model is just in its infancy, I think,” he says. “It takes awhile to educate people.

“We are still dealing with this stigma of shared housing in some aspect.”

Ms. Faulk said her brother, a businessman, was against the idea of her throwing her nest egg into co-ownership, but after seeing their legal agreement, she says he’s come around.

Ms. Nugent says she’s never been one to live a traditional life, so she’s used to polarized reactions, although her 30-something friends are showing interest now, too.

“That’s a leap – if you can get over your family and friends telling you that you are crazy.”

Ms. Foreman likens the concept to carshare.

“For my generation of baby boomers, it was all about fierce independence and ‘I will live on my own, I don’t need anybody,’ and I love the shift, to ‘let’s live collaboratively and take all the gifts we each bring to the table and share them.’ I’m inspired by that.