Everything Coliving: Brad's Interview on Common Bankruptcy, Finding the Right Fit for Community, Fractional Ownership in Coliving, and Global Coliving News.
You are receiving Everything Coliving, the summary of coliving news, insights, and announcements curated by the Artof.co team. Today, it’s Mayank Pokharna behind the edition!
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"Finding the right fit in a community is about aligning on core values and priorities. It's not about fitting into any community; it's about finding the community that fits you." - Renee Fleming
Brad Hargreaves on Common’s Bankruptcy
We have been reading comments from various people in the industry talking about why Common failed. Was it the business models, unit economics, a lack of community approach, or something else?
Many people reached out to us for comments, but we wanted to get the thoughts from source. So here we are. We spoke to Brad Hargreaves and asked: What happened to Common?
A lot of us may have a contrarian view on this, and we would love to speak to anyone who can shed more light on it so that we can learn from it, share with our industry peers, and push the industry forward.
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Finding the right fit for your Community
Living with people who share similar priorities is crucial. Just as with life partners, where alignment on money, sex, and kids is vital, in communal living, agreement on money, guests, and succession is key.
Money: Agree on spending principles. Whether it's hiring help, splitting expenses, or deciding on the quality of household items, alignment on financial matters prevents conflicts.
Guests: Some prefer an open-door policy, while others want a sanctuary. Ensuring all residents agree on guest policies maintains harmony.
Succession: Finding new roommates regularly is common. Deciding on a fair process for choosing new residents is essential to maintaining the community culture.
Read more on what Gillian Morris has to say about the topic.
Fractional Ownership in Coliving
Coliving and fractional ownership have the potential to solve the housing affordability crisis that is looming across the world.
Case in point: Canada. Evidence continues to pile up, revealing that housing affordability is getting worse in Canada, particularly in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver. According to the National Bank of Canada’s Housing Affordableness Monitor, the time required to save for the down payment on a representative home at a savings rate of 10% is close to 342 months in Vancouver and 92 months in Toronto.
Fractional ownership, or “shared equity," is a novel concept that allows home buyers and homeowners to tap into the future value of their homes in exchange for cash. An investment company offers funds in exchange for a share of the home’s growth, providing homeowners with an alternative option to a home equity line of credit (HELCO) and allowing home buyers to substantially increase their down payment at the time of purchase. Source: R-LABS Canada
Everything Else Coliving
Outpost Club is going to take over thousands of Common's coliving units.
New Coliving launched in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria; Repeople opened its first garden house.
Montino Coliving, a community living in the mountains overlooking Lake Maggiore, is crowdfunding for their first project. If you are interested, you can find more information here.
If you're looking to create a financial forecast for your coliving business, check out this tool that can help you.
Coliving seemed like a perfect solution to the Gen Z and millennial housing shortage—but the closure of yet another pioneer reveals an uncertain future
Another office conversion to Coliving Space: Calq and Bond Society convert 1970s office into co-working and co-living space
If you want to read academic research on coliving as an affordable housing solution in South Africa, you can read it in detail here.
On one side, we have Common going bankrupt in the USA, and on the other, we have Embassy Group hospitality firm Olive clocking 76 percent revenue growth in FY24 to Rs 51 crore in India.
Listen to Panel: Lessons Learned From Building Coliving And Village Projects
If you are looking for volunteer opportunities in coliving communities across the world, head here and see if something is of interest.
We hope you enjoyed this edition and wish you a great weekend ahead. Reply us with your thoughts on what more you want to read and if you have any feedback.
If you want us to cover anything, please mail it to us on coliving@artof.co
Gui Perdrix & Mayank Pokharna
The Artof.Co team
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Really insightful interview! I must say, it does baffle me how so much time, energy and money could be invested into expansion of a property management model and strategy that fundamentally does not work for the business itself (unprofitable in nature). The pursuit of "growth at costs" no doubt driven by over-ambitious investors who poured gasoline onto the fire.
That said, it takes the pioneers to move the industry forwards, show what works well/ what does not work, and allow us all to continue to positively innovate and influence change together. Hence I really do respect Common and what they have done to move the popularity of co-living into mainstream awareness. Thank you guys for this insightful interview!