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This page defines the procedure for applying for Membership or Friend of CoHo.
Scope
This procedure applies to anyone over 18 years of age who wishes to apply for affiliation with CoHo.
Definitions
- Member: During construction, an individual who has signed a purchase agreement for a unit in CoHo. After move-in, a homeowner in CoHo.
- Queue: The list of applicants in process of becoming Members of CoHo. The Queue establishes their position for being assigned a Membership Number.
- Waiting List: The list of applicants that have completed all the requirements for becoming members (except making the down payment), including paying annual dues, but for whom an acceptable home is not available. The Waiting List establishes the household's position for being offered homes that become available.
- Friend of CoHo: A Person who wants to participate but not live in the CoHo community.
How to Apply for Membership
The steps below are arranged in approximately chronological order. However, you may have already taken some of these steps and, if so, do not need to repeat them. Your buddy will be available to assist you in accomplishing these steps. You may want to plan ahead to have your financial ability documentation already in the works.
- Read the CoHo Vision and Values Statement and the CoHo Bylaws. These documents may be obtained from any CoHo Member, or may be found on the CoHo web pages (see links above).
- Attend a general CoHo membership meeting or a CoHo social event.
- Be assigned a buddy and meet with your buddy. (If you live out of area and will be visiting, please give your buddy a two-week notification. Your buddy will then let the community members know of your pending visit and help set up activities to assist you in meeting our members.)
- Fill out a Membership Application form and write a one-time non-refundable $100 application fee check, payable to CoHo Ecovillage, for each adult applying for membership (does not apply to down payment). Send both the form and the check to the Membership Committee Chair - Jessica Groom, 1688 SE Crystal Lake Drive, Unit E, Corvallis OR 97333. You will be given a current copy of the Member's Binder and put on the Queue.
Position on Queue: Position on Queue: Your position on the Queue is determined chronologically from the date the signed Membership Application and fee are received. Currently, if you do not complete the Membership process as outlined within six (6) weeks of your initial Membership Application date, you automatically lose your position in the queue. Beginning September 1, that will be shortened to three (3) weeks. Anyone already on the queue on September 1st will have their deadline revised to September 23rd unless their original deadline comes sooner.
What happens if you do not complete the Membership Application process by the deadline? You will lose your place on the queue. Your may rejoin the queue immediately by sending a letter or email indicating your desire to rejoin the queue. The receipt of that letter, which is treated like a new Member Application, determines your new queue position.
- After you have signed the Membership Application, you must wait at least four weeks (will change to two weeks beginning September 1; anyone already on the queue on September 1 will have their deadline revised to be September 16 unless their original deadline comes sooner) before you can become a Member. During these weeks, you can work to gain a greater sense if CoHo is for you and to meet Membership criteria as follows:
- Attend:
- A minimum of one committee meeting
- A minimum of one social event, and
- A minimum of one meeting with your buddy and
- A minimum of one business meeting if you did not attend one before joining the queue
- Read the:
- Member's Binder
- Decision Log
- Previous twelve months of general meeting minutes
- Current design documents
- Meet with the treasurer to discuss the financial implications and commitments of CoHo Membership.
- Select and meet with your Clearness Committee at least once. You may want to allow time for a second Clearness Committee meeting if necessary. (See Clearness Committee policy).
- Demonstrate your financial ability to purchase a unit by doing one of the following:
- Obtain a mortgage pre-qualification letter from a mortgage lender or demonstrate that you have the assets to purchase a home in CoHo.
- Income qualified: The members of CoHo and its developer, WNHS, agree that there is value to diversity in community and thus are committed to having 30% of the households be owned by persons who are "Income Eligible". In this project, Income Eligible is defined as a maximum of 80% of the median income for Benton County (see Financing Help). Potential members who believe they could be "Income Eligible" should:
- Meet with Ken Smith of WNHS, who will work with you to determine if you are eligible for special loan programs and grants that are available.
- Sign up for the First-Time Homebuyer Class offered by WNHS (class does not have to be completed prior to signing the Membership Agreement).
- Work with a bank (WNHS can supply a list of those that understand the special loan programs associated with CoHo) in order to be prepared to demonstrate sufficient income and credit worthiness to qualify for a 1st Mortgage (a mortgage from a bank).
- As noted above in #4 and the associated explanation of the Queue, applicants have no less than four weeks and no more than six weeks after turning in their CoHo Member Application to:
- Decide to move forward with Membership
- Pay annual dues of $100 per each adult member, prorated for the year from date of acceptance (CoHo fiscal year starts October 1).
- If there is no acceptable home available, go on the Waiting List (#10).
- If there is an acceptable home available, go on to #11.
- Decide you are not ready to move forward and
- Either drop off the Queue until you send in a letter indicating you are ready to go back on the Queue
- Or decide you are not yet ready to go forward, but immediately provide a letter and go back on the queue in the next open position.
- Position on Waiting List: If no acceptable home is available, you will be assigned a position on the Waiting List. Your position will be determined chronologically from the date that you complete all the membership requirements, deliver your Annual Dues, and sign the Waiting List Agreement. Sometimes, due to the commitment CoHo/WNHS has made regarding income diversity, available homes may only be offered to specific income groups.
- When an acceptable home is offered and accepted, you sign the purchase agreement and pay Membership fees: Income Eligible HOME Fund recipients pay 2% of the unit's purchase price. All others pay a minimum of 5% of the unit's purchase price. These fees are credited toward your down payment.
How to Apply to be a Friend of CoHo
- Read Vision and Values Statement.
- Attend at least one social event.
- Pay a one-time, non-refundable $30 Friend of CoHo application fee.
- Pay annual dues of $25, prorated for the fiscal year beginning October 1.
- Sign the Friends of CoHo Agreement.
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