| An Intentional Community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political or spiritual vision and are often part of the alternative society. They also share responsibilities and resources. Intentional Communities include co-housing, residential land trusts, eco-villages, communes, kibbutzim, ashrams, moshavs, and housing cooperatives. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community |
| The following definitions and discussions are mainly from various pages in the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Starting with a general definition of "Intentional Community" and going on to discuss some of the various specific types, we feel that whatever type a group of buyers may find most to their liking and advantage presents a marvelously wide range of opportunities hardly ever available to an individual of moderate or otherwise limited financial means, experience, and/or technical skills. Here below we have quoted some of the more important sections from the Wikipedia discussions. We encourage each of you however to click on the links provided and read the whole article or entry as you may find personal points of interest we may have missed or in many cases come up with your own combination of ideas which eventually may coalesce into the real living community you have always wanted but until now never dreamed could be so relatively easy and economical to achieve. |
| Co-housing Community A Co-housing Community is a kind of intentional community composed of private homes with full kitchens, supplemented by extensive common facilities. A co-housing community is planned, owned and managed by the residents, groups of people who want more interaction with their neighbours. Common facilities vary but usually include a large kitchen and dining room where residents can take turns cooking for the community. Other facilities may include a laundry, pool, child care facilities, offices, Internet access, game room, TV room, tool room or a gym. Through spatial design and shared social and management activities, co-housing facilitates intergenerational interaction among neighbours, for the social and practical benefits. There are also economic and environmental benefits to sharing resources, space and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing |
| Residential Land Trust A land trust is an agreement whereby one party (the trustee) agrees to hold ownership of a piece of real property for the benefit of another party (the beneficiary). Land trusts are used by nonprofit organizations to hold conservation easements, by corporations and investment groups to compile large tracts of land, and by individuals to keep their real estate ownership private, avoid probate and provide several other benefits. A community or conservation land trust is an organization established to hold land and to administer use of the land according to the charter of the organization. A land trust is a useful way to manage complex divisions of the Bundle of Rights that people can own in real estate, and can be used to manage something as large and complex as a multi-state REIT, or as common and small as a single-family home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_trust |
| Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) A Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporation investing in real estate that reduces or eliminates corporate income taxes. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their income, which may be taxable in the hands of the investors. The REIT structure was designed to provide a similar structure for investment in real estate as mutual funds provide for investment in stocks. Like other corporations, REITs can be publicly or privately held. Public REITs may be listed on public stock exchanges like shares of common stock in other firms. Corporations sometimes set up land trusts when they want to compile large tracts of land without arousing suspicion or alerting people to their plans (which would cause the asking price to rise). For example, the land for Walt Disney World near Orlando Florida was put together by using many land trusts to buy smaller tracts of land. Individuals use land trusts mainly for privacy and to avoid probate. No one knows what one's bank balance or stock investments are, yet anyone with an Internet connection can look up a person's real estate holdings. A person who has an auto accident or a doctor who accidentally injures a patient is a much better target for a lawsuit if he or she owns real estate investments. So some investors buy their properties in land trusts so their name does not appear in the public records. The land trust also allows the property to immediately pass to their heirs at the moment of death, rather than go through a long probate process. ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 2... |
| "Intentional Community" is a concept and vehicle for developing property... and community... by like-minded people sharing the same or similar intentions in terms of how and where they want to live and especially in terms of how they will finance their chosen venture. As you will see below there are many kinds of Intentional or cooperative ways of setting up one´s own community. A major advantage all of them share though is that "There are substantial potential economic and environmental benefits to sharing resources, space and items accruing to a group venture that would almost never be available to an individual without possessing unlimited financial resources[1]" |
| Before we get started here, let us please clarify that we are not suggesting any particular vehicle, arrangement, or philosophy, or that you consider investing and living in a "commune", or utopia of the 19th century or even the 1960's and onwards. We will however support and facilitate the dreams, wishes, and philosophy of any group of clients whose goals include respectful, sustainable and renewable resource and land use, respect for the local and larger community that they will become a part of, and, in general, support for and respect of the environment and planet that we all share and must live in. In other words, we are not proposing or suggesting a utopia or especially any kind of "cult" setting too often seen in the media. What we are suggesting is the possibility of a relatively small group of people probably forming a corporation(based wholly or in part upon one of the vehicles discussed below) to buy a relatively large tract of land to develop some portion for their own needs, as they determine, while leaving some portion of the rest as undisturbed habitat and another portion as a working, profit generating, ranch, farm, reforestation project, land-based fish-farm, or some combination of "all of the above" and even including other potential approaches not listed here. This is a general introduction and discussion of just a few of the possibilities, not a definitive, one-size-fits-all plan or outline. We hope however that the information contained will be helpful, of interest, and thought provoking to those of you, those of "us" really, who are possibly considering alternative ways of making a "living", of living on the planet in a more hands-on and efficient, hopefully even respectful and sustainable fashion. Perhaps you simply want more time for yourself, for your family, your books, your art, your garden, or other personal priorities? What if in sharing, the daily responsibilities of income generation, you were able to achieve all of these goals and more while also living in a beautiful, natural environment of your choosing in a community of other similarly, even loosely like-minded neighbors, in part, of your own making? This can be achieved either actively by hands-on,physical or managerial participation or passively, simply by some level of financial investment the most simple example being a monthly or annual fee condominium association members make for the up-keep and maintenance of shared or communally owned and used parts of the project such a roads, landscaping, and social areas. It's of course completely up to each individual and group how they may want to structure their own particular form of shared investment and living arrangement. From a group of retirees whose income may largely derive from outside sources, to a group of people looking towards this project for at least some portion of their monthly or annual income, all is possible and simply depends upon choosing and pursuing the appropriate organizational vehicle which will suit individual and group needs and priorities. We believe the benefits and potential positive outcomes are many and welcome you to consider the following as a jumping off point in your consideration or exploration of the almost unlimited possibilities that await you. We will of course be available to assist when asked. If we don't have immediate answers to questions you may have, we will help you look for the answers or for the people or other resources with whom or from which your questions may be resolved. |
| Intentional Community, Limited Partnerships, Cooperative Land Ownership and other Vehicles of Ownership, Economic Cooperation, and Stewardship: A General Introduction Offered by www.YucatanRanchFarmandHome.com Developing and Supporting Sustainable Resource, Land Use and Living Strategies for People and the Planet |
