Expenses
Note: These are estimates only, and these estimates will change based on the design decisions of the community.
Mortgage (~$?)
Depending on the final choice/cost of finishes in the homes, sweat equity involved, the lender, and your personal financial profile, this amount will vary to account for your individual mortgage.
HOA Dues (Total~$?
Monthly Dues are payments required every month as part of living in the community. The HOA is planned to be a non-profit LLC, so these are just the amounts necessary to maintain the community in good running order. Since the community members self-manage, maintain, and organize the community, there is no paid staff, property management team, maintenance personnel, or any labor component that is paid. (It is possible these dues can be offset by the HOA running a few points of the common building as revenue generating streams such as renting the guest rooms as AirBnB, renting out the common building, and solar power excess being sold back to the grid, etc.)The Dues cover the Trash, Insurance and Utilities for Common Areas, Maintenance, and other ongoing common expenses. A breakdown of the Dues is estimated below.
Trash (~$?)
We share a dumpster, emptied weekly. We could save a little money by reducing our trash demand and using a smaller dumpster or have fewer pickups.
Condo Master Policy (~$?)
The policy covers property damage for all the common property, as well as liability for any injuries.
Commons Utilities (~$?)
The Community Building will have utility costs spread among the group equally. Thanks to extremely efficient energy design, this should be minimal, possibly even net positive.
Maintenance (~$?)
While there is no maintenance personnel, cleaning supplies, equipment, and community area repairs are funded by the Maintenance fund.
Reserve Fund (~$?)
To account for large expenses and (hopefully) eliminate Special Assessments, this fund addresses large community needs, repairs, and remodels.
Consumables (~$?)
Inexpensive consumables such as tape, staples, some saw blades, etc. are covered by this. Those who use the equipment frequently should supply their own.
The cost of ownership is complicated for most all housing, and most everyone neglects to account for things. Whether it's the utilities, insurance(s), saving for repairs, etc., something is usually always found wanting and the expected housing allotment doesn't seem to go as far as anticipated. We have tried to account for all the ancillary costs of ownership, and would recommend you do the same no matter which housing option you look into. We feel we have accounted for everything, but we could definitely be missing some things.
HOA Special Assessments( ~$?)
Special Assessments are really a byproduct of bad planning, and will ideally be zero. Assessments are payments imposed on the community members when a project/event/activity surpasses sufficient funding and requires more money to finish the work. An example is a swimming pool needing refinished and not having the money, so extra money is required specifically for that purpose. In a perfect world, the Dues are sufficient along with foresight to have the needs met without Assessments.
PMI (~$?)
At the high end, PMI is about 1% of the loan value per year, paid in monthly installments. This is paid until 20% of equity is reached, or loan value. The method some will be using to fund the homes may be able to provide the equity to offset needing PMI, but it is somewhat lender specific, and should be accounted for until otherwise determined unnecessary.
Homeowner's Insurance (~$?)
Homeowner's Insurance covers the costs of any damage or incidents on your property. It also covers liability for injuries in your home, or damage/injury caused by you while you are out and about. It will most likely be a requirement to maintain this insurance, and at the very least, highly encouraged to do so.
Property Taxes (~$?)
Property Taxes are imposed by the local jurisdiction that your home is located to provide for infrastructure, government, and civil amenities. The tax base in El Paso County is about 0.46% of home value ($4.7/$1000 of home value/year). This tax is based on the assessed value of the home not necessarily on the market rate/purchase price.
Utilities (~$?)
Each home is responsible for their electricity, gas, water, and sewer usage. With the homes being extremely energy efficient, this should be a very minimal amount; basically the cost of basic service plus a few dollars. Internet service options need to be explored to see if a group rate will be sufficiently fast enough and economical, or each provides their own. Internet is accounted for in this estimate.
Total Monthly Housing (~$?)
The total of all costs for housing, including Mortgage, PMI, HOA Dues, HOA Assessment Personal Savings, Condo Insurance, Utilities (including internet), and Property Taxes, is currently estimated at $?/month. Lenders require varying levels of financial profiles, but this should give you a basic idea of what to expect as far as feasibility goes.
Meals (~$?)
It is expected to eat group prepared meals at least twice per week. At the cost of ~$4/adult and ~$2/child under 8, it makes the cost of the meal ~$6-16 per meal, per household, depending on size. This should be the equivalent cost, or less, of preparing a nice meal at home, but with the benefits of easier preparation, cleanup, variety, as well as enjoyment of your friends at dinner. While the meal program isn't expected to be mandatory, it is highly encouraged and we feel it is a great benefit of having such a neighborhood; a benefit hard to realize until experiencing it. The frequency and governance of the meal program is always in command by the community and will iterate in options to adapt to the needs and desires of the group to provide the best option for everyone!