The RareBirds Housing Co-operative in Kamloops, B.C.
In the growing city of Kamloops, B.C., about a four-hour drive north of Vancouver, a group of people decided to pool their funds and come up with a type of sustainable housing that would work for them.
They formed an equity co-op, which meant they owned shares of a corporation, but that was only the legal piece. They then had a 6,000-square-foot deluxe house built on a little more than an acre of property within walking distance of downtown that overlooked mountains, a creek and the Thompson River. Each has a private unit within the house but share common areas, including a garden and a large kitchen, with two fridges, two ovens and two dishwashers.
The usual co-op is an apartment building where people live their lives individually and only meet on matters involving the building. The RareBirds Housing Co-operative is a rare bird indeed, because the shareholders live together more like a family, taking turns shopping and cooking and sharing meals together each night.
Each member has a private unit within the house but share common areas, including a garden and a large kitchen, with two fridges, two ovens and two dishwashers.
The house is built on a little more than an acre of property.
Shared space in the home.
“Our model is a bit different, because with most co-ops, there is shared space, a common space, and certainly co-ownership, but people live more independently than we do,” says original member Mary Jordan, who moved out of her three-bedroom townhouse about nine years ago, when their building was completed.
When she lived in her townhouse she’d occasionally rent rooms to students, but her new housing situation is different, she says.
“We live like an extended family. And we have six separate units, but they are bigger than a bedroom – more like a bed sitting room.”
Each unit is roughly 400 sq. ft. – the size of some studio apartments in big cities – and has a full bathroom, bedroom and sitting area, with river views. There are two units on the main floor of the three-storey house, and four on the upper floor. There’s a guest suite for visiting friends and relatives.
They’ve roughed in an elevator so it could be wheelchair accessible, if need be. They prefer multigenerational living and members who are active and capable of contributing to the upkeep of a big house. The group currently living there ranges in age from five to 80, says Ms. Jordan. There is a young family of four who get the spacious downstairs unit, and four single people in the other units.
One unit is vacant because the shareholder moved to the coast and at the end of July put her one-sixth share on the market, priced at $262,500.
Each unit is roughly 400 sq. ft.
One unit is vacant because the shareholder moved to the coast and at the end of July put her one-sixth share on the market, priced at $262,500. The monthly fee is $440, which includes utilities, internet, property taxes, Netflix and more. They each contribute $330 per adult for groceries. For $770, the basics are covered, says Ms. Jordan, and because they own the property, it’s an investment as well as a home. Every three years, they get an appraisal on the property to determine what their shares are worth. Ms. Jordan says her share is worth more now than when she moved in.
“I would say this is true maybe for most co-ops; that you are not buying in because you are trying to make money on real estate, but you buy in because you value the lifestyle,” says Ms. Jordan. “It’s affordable to live here, both in terms of investment and in your operational and living costs, and you want to enjoy a community that you can be part of, and you have a home you can maintain and you have equity in. It’s not like you are renting.”
People have come and gone over the years, for various reasons. The young family shareholders are only temporarily living there while they build a house nearby, so their shares will also go on the market one day. A couple that had helped found the co-op left to live on a sailboat. After living at the co-op for a year, one man decided he wasn’t around enough to contribute to the community, and that it wasn’t for him.
That sometimes happens, says Ms. Jordan.
Not all shareholders live at the property. A couple who are investor-shareholders live in Saskatchewan and get rental income from one of the units, which is rented to a man in his 30s. He’s referred to as a “co-occupant.” The group also vets co-occupants before moving in. Understanding the dynamic of collective living is crucial, they say.
Before anyone buys in, or rents a space, they have to spend a few days living at the house to make sure they’re a good fit.
Margaret Huff is the newest shareholder. The yoga therapist bought in less than a year ago, after living in a small condo. Before that, she owned a house for 27 years, mostly as a single parent. She knew of the RareBirds co-op and decided that it would be nice not to have to cook dinner every night, and to share the workload of running a home. Like the others, she values a lifestyle that keeps her carbon footprint small.
“I didn’t like living alone so much, and I had known about RareBirds since the onset,” she says.
Meal times are a highlight for most members, she says. But the sharing of a kitchen is the one thing that confounds people who ask her about the arrangement.
“People want their own private kitchen. So even though I think it’s just fine, I think other people find that part more challenging. But it might be an adjustment that is not as difficult as it is if they were to try it out,” she adds. “It’s not like we’re all jammed into the kitchen all the time.”
The household has also figured out ways to accommodate vegetarians, meat eaters and those with dietary restrictions. Few people complain because they’re just grateful someone else is cooking, says Ms. Huff, laughing.
But disagreements are inevitable, which is why they have protocols in place to handle conflicts, says Ms. Jordan. There have been situations where two people simply didn’t get along and so one party moved out.
“That’s life,” says Ms. Huff, who’s so far found the experience highly positive.
“Oh yeah, it’s very economical,” she says of group living.
“I can also see this being a great route forward for younger people who want to have some ownership. … They have money invested into a home, and they have a beautiful garden, a beautiful house and they want to grow food. This is the place to do that.”
Sherryl Yeager bought a house in 2005 with her friend Tony, on E. 11th in Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. They each took separate, self-contained suites within the house and rented out the basement suite. After 12 years, Ms. Yeager wanted to buy her own house with her partner so she sold her suite to the basement tenants.
“And I was able to take the equity from that sale and buy the house near Commercial Drive,” she says. “It has two rental suites, which makes it more affordable.”
Ms. Yeager and her friend were early adopters of co-ownership, which has now become a lot more popular. Today it’s easier to find financing for co-ownership arrangements, and insurance, and lawyers who’ll draw up agreements. She says without buying a house with her friend, she’d never have grown the equity she did.
And having a rental unit meant there were tax writeoffs.
“The amount of equity I got having that house is more than I could have got with a condo for sure,” she says.
Noam Dolgin, the listing agent for the membership share for sale at RareBirds, specialized in collaborative housing before it became a trend. He says that pooling funds takes the pressure off in an affordability crisis.
“We are seeing this option becoming more and more popular, and not just with twenty-somethings but across the age and demographic spectrum, including single parents, retirees and multigenerational communities like the RareBirds,” says Mr. Dolgin.
“It’s exciting to see groups like this creating better housing at an affordable price.”