Idea 038 - Club House co-op

This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.

One Line Pitch

Membership owned club house that can be used for members use.

Description

A group of people get together and form a business whose purpose is to own a property that is used by its members. There would be a large upfront cost to “buy in” and a monthly dues that would cover the mortgage, maintenance, and operating costs. After the mortgage/loan is paid down the monthly dues can be reduced accordingly.

Example of membership properties.

• A vacation property on a lake - Cabin
• Access to a workshop - BetaMax style, wood working, metal shop, electronics
• Access to a coworking space / Office - When you don’t want to work from home
• A club house in the city - Hang out spot
• Commercial space - Place to sell goods
• Raw land - Potential space, camping space, maybe a place to build a vacation property.

As the property is paid off, other capital expenses can be voted on.

Vote based on shareholder amount. >= 51% is required for winning a vote. Majority rules, absentee voiding allowed. The property is not an investment property, there is no method for extracting funds from it. No shotgun method, no “buy out” clause, etc…

As the shared resources increase and become more desirable. A membership tier could be created where the shared resources are available to people in the members tier. They would pay a yearly or monthly dues that are more than what the shareholders pay. This would allow the shareholders monthly dues to be reduced.

The property can be used for anything that the group decides is appropriate. A board game group, a smoking room, an art show, store seasonal equipment, billiards/games room, theater room, workshop, parties, etc… Majority vote required for change of usage.

The business can be dissolved with a majority vote and value is split by shareholder amount.

Example 1

• 10x people, each put $10,000 for initial seed money. $100,000
• The mortgage on a $1,000,000 property is ~$6,000 a month, + 10% ($660) for repairs, taxes, unilites, etc…
• $6660/10 people = $666 a month for 25 years.

Example 2

• 10x people, each put $10,000 for initial seed money. $100,000
• The mortgage on a $500,000 property is ~$3,000 a month, + 10% ($330) for repairs, taxes, unilites, etc…
• $3330/10 people = $333 a month for 25 years.

If people can’t pay their monthly dues (3x late payments), then their share count is reduced as a penalty (10%), and each subsequent month that they don’t pay their share count is reduced accordingly and distributed to everyone else. Eventually people who don’t pay their monthly dues lose all the shares. (Some method for preventing abuse)

You can sell your shares to other people with approval of the group, majority vote.

If there is a shared resource that everyone wants. Then a calendar can be created and the “Weeks” that you have access to this share resource is based on the amount of shares you own. (Think vacation home during summer). Some other method would need to be created for members who don’t own shares.

I am sure there are existing template contracts that would. Looking into Co-ops templates.

Prior art

Co-ops, communal houses, frat houses, club houses.

Market

People who don’t have enough space in their houses to support their hobbies. People looking for a clubhouse and community. People with money but can’t afford a property.