How to Join

How to Join

Steps to Reserving a New Home in Sunnyside Village Cohousing
Revised 7/19/19
Now accepting new members!

  • Become an Explorer — $100 (non refundable).  Send check to Dean Smith, 3007 Federal Ave., Everett, WA, 98201.
  • Become an Equity Member — $500 (non refundable) and $1,500 loan (a total of $2,000) to Evergreen State Sustainable Communities, our Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). This makes you an equity member with full voting abilities and on the priority list for choosing your home. The $1,500 is applied to the downpayment on your home and it funds the construction (ask about discounts) Send check to Dean Smith, 3007 Federal Ave., Everett, WA, 98201.
  • Make an additional $10,000 loan to the LLC in 90 days.

Summary:

The details:

  1. First get to know us:
    • A. Visit our website: www.sunnysidevillagecohousng.com to find out more about our vision and values, our members and the community design.
    • B. Attend social events, listed on the calendar
    • C. Attend a site tour to see the property and talk with some of our members.
  2. Become an Explorer:
    • A. To become an Explorer, a household pays a $100 fee (non refundable). Explorers have the ability to attend and participate in meetings and discussions, but not vote. Your household may be Explorers for two months. If you wish to continue, then we request that you become Equity Members.
  3. Explore your financial ability to purchase a new home:
    • A. If you plan to have a mortgage, confirm with your financial institution how much you can qualify for (“pre-quality”). While you are free to obtain a mortgage from any institution, we are working with Dave Porter at Loan Depot who has agreed to “pre-qualify” everyone. You won’t have to explain what cohousing is to him or why you are wanting to prequalify for a home that won’t be built for 1-2 years because he knows about our project. 206 304 8228, DPorter@loandepot.com
    • B. Determine how much your current home might be worth by contacting a realtor (Zillow gives a rough estimate).
    • C. Think about how you will downsize. Our cottages will be 800-1,200 square feet.
    • D. Learn what plans our community has for homes and their pricing.

Steps to Equity Membership:

  1. Tell a member of the membership committee that your household wishes to become Equity Members
  2. Attend a Membership Orientation meeting with one of the Membership Committee members. This will orient you and your household to our cohousing community, to our form of consensus decision making, and how our community works. It is an essential part of understanding our community.
  3. A big part of living in cohousing is participating in the work (and play) of the community. Decide which work team(s) you want to participate in and jump in! Like most things in life, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Check the website for what work teams are doing and when they meet.
  4. Financial
    • $2,000 makes you an Equity Member. This includes a one-time non-refundable membership fee of $500 per household. The remaining $1,500 is a loan to the LLC and is applied to the downpayment on your home.
    • Within 90 days you will invest an additional $10,000 into a loan to the LLC. There will be periodic additional Required Capital Contributions from Equity Members for the construction costs of our project. These payments pay for the design and the development of the property such as roads and utilities. If you are not able to contribute $10,000 within 90 days, a payment plan may be able to be worked out. Contact the membership committee.
    • All of these loans to the corporation, apply to the downpayment of your home, up to 20%.
    • The Required Capital Contribution will apply to your home purchase. Evergreen State Sustainable Communities uses your payments, to develop the land.
    • We are striving to keep costs as low as possible while building a community with a low carbon footprint and environmentally friendly design.
    • If you change your mind and wish to withdraw, after the project has been completed you are eligible to obtain a repayment of the funds you have loaned to the LLC when the last home is sold on the completed project, if there are funds available. We want to be clear that this is a risky investment with no guarantees and we are doing everything we can at each stage to reduce risk and ensure that each of us receives full value for our investments. Remember that we are in this together as “owner/developers.” If you choose to withdraw, you are not obligated to continue investing in the project.
    • Choosing your home: Once you have completed an application, prequalified, attended a Membership Orientation, paid your $2,000 ($500 non-refundable and $1,500 toward your down payment) and understand and agree to the Required Capital Contribution you may be on the priority list for selecting your home site (or be next on the waiting list if the lots have not yet been established). Checks may be made out to Evergreen State Sustainable Communities and mailed to Dean Smith, Sunnyside Village Cohousing, 3007 Federal Avenue, Everett, WA 98201, or contact Dean Smith for credit card payments (425) 258-9979. These terms are subject to change based on group decisions.