There are a lot of luxury “coliving” and "cohousing" projects springing up these days (at least in NYC) and they aren’t being driven by entrepreneurs/developers who are trying to create awesome communities. They are being driven by developers who want to figure out how to charge higher rents for smaller apartments in less exclusive neighborhoods by providing a curated “community” as the latest in amenities. That’s why these places are nice, but rather generic and soulless. There is no real ownership or investment in the community on the part of the residents.

I’m interested in how to support the creation of spaces that are owned by the residents, with amenities based on the real interests of the community, and actual ownership of the assets -- a chance to build wealth over time as residents invest time/energy in their homes. To that end, I’m excited to be working with a new service called Landquarter that helps people buy real estate together, and we would love to have some architects involved to spearhead projects in their local communities.

Buying a unit as part of a multifamily building with a group can drop the price 50% on average compared to an individual single family house or condo unit (from NYC open data for Brooklyn, 2016). However, forming a group and negotiating the ownership structure and financing can be complex, and is a process that benefits from experienced guidance. We hope to help people save money with this service and get their foot in the homeownership door. Please check us out at Landquarter, we’d love to hear from you!

www.landquarter.com