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20%
Interest free mortgage
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- What is Coflats?
- Will I be disturbed by
other residents, how private can I be?
- Do I need to pay extra
for the Common House, laundry, garden areas,
electric cars, wind turbine and broadband
internet?
- What about using the
laundry and meals in the common house?
- What is the CoFlats
Company?
- What about my pet pig,
can I keep her in CoFlats?
- I am worried about noise
from neighbours and also me disturbing them.
- What about
Eco-credentials has best practice been used?
- What is the history of
the Old Chapel?
- What guarantees will I
get with the new flat?
- Can I rent out my flat?
- What about people buying
in second generation?
- How does the Residents
Association (RA) work?
- What about conflicts and
disputes?
- Can I make changes to the
flat?
- What is the address
and location of CoFlats Stroud?
What
is Coflats?
- Coflats is a community
of self contained flats with a shared common
house. see introduction page for more details.
Will I be disturbed by other
residents, how private can I be?
- CoFlats offers the
best of both worlds. You can be communal when you
like eg popping to the Common House for a cup of
tea and see who’s there or close your
private front door and not be disturbed.
Do I need to pay extra for
the Common House, laundry, garden areas, electric cars,
wind turbine and broadband internet?
- No, these are all
included in the purchase price of each flat. Each
flat pays a monthly service charge to cover
common bills. These are currently £24 per month. The Residents
Association will determine these costs from time
to time based on actual expenses. It is designed
to be far cheaper than running these things
privately.
What about using the laundry
and meals in the common house?
- The laundry will cost
about £1 per
wash –
this will contrubute to repairs and replacement
in about 5 years. Common Meals and tea/coffee
will be organised by the Residents Association
and will be based on what the food costs.
What is the CoFlats Company?
- The CoFlats company is
part of the Cohousing Company Ltd. It is
committed to providing high quality communal
housing controlled and managed by residents. The
director is David Michael. He is the founder of
Springhill Cohousing Community, the first new
build cohousing in the UK. www.springhillcohousing.com It is in Stroud just across
the valley from Coflats Stroud. CoFlats Company
is the developer of CoFlats Stroud.
What about my pet pig, can I keep
her in CoFlats?
- The Lease says that
pets are not allowed. However, if there is a
unanimous decision of flat owners – this restriction can be
over-turned.
I am worried about noise from
neighbours and also me disturbing them.
- Sound insulation has
been carried out to a very high standard and
tested by independent auditors prior to
completion. That is why there wall lights and no
ceiling lights as they can breach sound barriers.
What about Eco-credentials has
best practice been used?
- A significant
eco-feature is that an old building is being
re-used. This means that fewer materials and
energy are needed and a landmark building is
re-paired to a high standard and re-used. The
windows are pilkington e double glazed, high
levels of heat insulation on outside walls and
roofs, wind-turbine to generate electricity for
common house, 65MPG cars, high efficiency
condensing boilers and communal composting. All
the flats have achieved a SAP rating of 120 - the
highest eco-standard possible. However the main
eco-feature is the communal nature of the
project: sharing meals and living in an
egalitarian community with neighbours.
What is the history of the Old
Chapel?
- The Old chapel was
build as a Unitarian Chapel in 1881 – Unitarians were like Quaker
in being anti-slavery and today conduct gay
marriages. Later it was used as Liberal Hall, the
first Cinema in Stroud, Cotswold ballroom and
recently a dance studio.
What guarantees will I get with
the new flat?
- Each flat has a
transferable 10 year insurance backed defects
warranty.
Can I rent out my flat?
- Yes – the main requirement is
that the tenant agrees to the principles of
CoFlats eg. cooking/cleaning rota, join the
residents association and car sharing etc. A £30 registration fee, 1% of
rent and a copy of the tenancy agreement with a
cohousing clause is given to the Residents
Association.
What about people buying in
second generation?
- This is by self
selection, the same as first generation.
Requirements are the same as for renting apart
from 1% of purchase price fee is collected from
the buyer. 0.5% to the Residents Association and
0.5% to the Cohousing Company for future
projects. This is a useful source of income for
the community.
How does the Residents
Association (RA) work?
- All residents must be
members of the RA. The RA is non hierarchical and
makes decisions by consensus or of deadlocked by
70% majority. The RA manages all aspects of
CoFlats. It decides how much money to charge each
month based on communla bills. Flats owners are
members (£1
share per flat) of the management company – CoFlats Stroud Community
Ltd. This company owns the Freehold of the Old
Chapel and decides on any expenditure needed over
above the monthly payments. Decisions made by the
RA can be appealed to the Freehold company, which
has ultimate management responsibility. Decisions
are also made by consensus or 70% majority if
deadlocked.
What about conflicts and
disputes?
- Disputes between
neighbours, even if good friends are ineviatble.
The Residents Association will use a voluntary
conflicts resolution procedure. This is based on
a "buddy
system"
and if necessary progresses to arbitration using
a 3 person disputes committee made up of
non-resident volunteers appointed by the RA. If a
resident is in serious breach of the Lease eg
persistantly makes a lot of noise and doesn’t want to use the disputes
procedure, it is possible to start eviction
procedings.
Can I make changes to the flat?
- Any alterations must
have the approval of the Freeholder (The
community company). This is to ensure that other
residents are protected. For example sound and
structural integrity must be maintained.
What is the address and
location of CoFlats Stroud?
- The Old Chapel, 59
Lansdown, Stroud, Glos GL5 1BN Check out www.multimap.com
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