# Lifestyles & Discussion > Freedom Living >  Housing co-operatives

## silverhawks

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience with setting up a housing co-operative, with the end result being a multi-family property that can be developed to become self-sufficient?

Any help in this matter would be MUCH appreciated.

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## disorderlyvision

The Encyclopedia of Country Living (Paperback)
~ Carla Emery

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-C...6221375&sr=8-1

damn near everything you need to know about being self-sufficient

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## silverhawks

> The Encyclopedia of Country Living (Paperback)
> ~ Carla Emery
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-C...6221375&sr=8-1
> 
> damn near everything you need to know about being self-sufficient


Thanks for that.  Haven't got that book myself, but quite a few like it.   I'm definitely going to pick that up though 

I think I should clarify my question somewhat. Here's what I'm thinking of:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/real-e...operatives.htm

Basically, myself and a couple of friends are thinking about finding some property, then setting up an LLC to "own" the property, which we then buy shares of, rather than having one person as landlord and the other two as tenants, with the intent to develop the property along the lines of something I posted a while back:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=193281

There seems to be some property tax advantages to this, and since maintenance costs are shared amongst tenants, it would then be a matter of self-interest to make sure the other tenants are gainfully employed and building prosperity, so helps to spur on free enterprise development...in the same way that a town might depend on developing and maintaining local economy.

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## reardenstone

> Hi all,
> 
> Does anyone have any experience with setting up a housing co-operative, with the end result being a multi-family property that can be developed to become self-sufficient?
> 
> Any help in this matter would be MUCH appreciated.




I'll jump on the bandwagon too! I live in GA and would love to find some land and start a cooperative housing project where we have no ridiculous HOA and covenants and the aim is self-sufficiency and live how we want to live.

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## cbc58

i have researched this extensively and if you google "intentional communities" you will get a site that is a goldmine of information.  i think it's ic.org   it lists all types of co-ops and their locations, resources, etc.

i have visted a number of these and they all have their own little quirks and issues.  the underlying purpose is shared community and shared expenses which makes alot of sense.  i'd like to start one and do it right but the problem is finding an affordable piece of land that will support numerous dwellings and septic systems.

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## steve005

I want to build a series of earthships or something similar, these structures are earthquake proof, cost nothing to build, heat, or cool, they harvest rainwater and re-use it three times, also you can grow most of your food inside, the main structure is made out of tires packed full of dirt

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