Investors in new cohousing community lose life savings

[Demovictory9]

So she was among the early supporters of what was envisioned as Connecticut’s first cohousing community. After more than a decade of planning, the project, called Rocky Corner, finally broke ground in 2018 on a 33-acre plot in Bethany, a suburb of New Haven.

Ruffle and a friend contracted to purchase one of the attached housing units there, and sold their home in New Haven in anticipation of closing in 2019. But their closing date kept getting extended. And then members of the community were told that the project was having a cash flow problem

“We thought, Oh, OK, we will give them all of our money for our unit with the understanding that once we can move in, our unit is paid for,” Ruffle said.

But instead, the entire project went into foreclosure. And Ruffle’s dream — and finances — were dashed.

“That money is now gone and there’s no way for us to retrieve it,” she said. “We lost about $170,000. And we both have very low incomes. Ever since, we’ve been living in not good circumstances at all.”

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/They-Took-a-Chance-on-Collaborative-Living-They-16914114.php

[a kennedy]

1. 😢 😢 😢 😢 😢

[XanaDUer2]

2. Horrible

[LonePirate]

3. Reading the article, it seems like massive incompetence and inexperience were at fault.

I also wonder how much fraud and theft were involved if the developers kept taking money but knew the project was going nowhere.

[hunter]

4. Denmark is not the U.S.A.

Cohousing, a form of collaborative living that originated in Denmark, provided "a structure where I didn’t have to be outgoing and could still get the benefit of getting to know people," said Ruffle, 72, a former substitute teacher and administrative secretary. "It compensated for my lack of outgoingness."

All sorts of things are possible there that are not possible in the U.S.A..