June 1982 RAIN Page 13 suit your exact needs, but it will give you a good overview from which to work. Listed at the end of the article are useful resources for models and examples of communal contracts. Do your homework, talk to people with experience, and draw from all your sources before you actually construct your own contract. Here's what you'll need to consider: □ Title The title heads the contract and states the general tone of the commitment to follow (e.g., "attunement," "agreement," etc.). □ I. Identity of Communal Owners This part states the names of the owners as they wish to appear on all legal documents (contracts, deeds, accounts). □ II. Identification of Property Each parcel of land has a specific location and legal description. This appears on the deed and is also registered with your County Recorder. The legal description can be given a name and used throughout the contract. □ III. Use of the Property This determines at the outset how the property will be used and for what purposes. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of private vs. public access (don't forget zoning). □ IV. Shares/Units of Ownership This segment determines the unit or share of an individual owner's investment as compared to the group's total investment. It is also the area where your financial and social creativity can emerge. Rights, responsibilities, and powers are often determined by weight of investment and/or length of involvement. There may be a group of initial primary investors followed by a group of secondary investors. You can shape this section to fit your own preferences for cooperation and democracy in decision-making. It's a good idea to safeguard your feelings of communication and trust by being as explicit as possible in determining who has what rights and responsibilities and when they have them. Being clear about this may seem like an extra hassle now, but if you can't be explicit and agree on this part you may later find yourselves with "big troubs." Consider: the current determination of $/shares invested differing levels of financial commitment the rights, responsibilities and powers of each owner □ V. Tenancy Tenancy deals with the actuality of living on the property. It determines how the property will be occupied and under what conditions. Consider: undivided or parcelled ownership the status of resident and non-resident owners the rights of non-owner residents (friends, renters) □ VI. Major Financial Responsibilities This category determines where your major expense money will go, when it will go, and who will get it there. Consider: meeting your monthly payments of interest (mostly) and principal determining priorities for investment and work on major improvements your method of recording major expenses a contingency plan if you should fail to meet your payments loans and their potential benefits and hazards for your group determining and recording the value of sweat equity □ VII. Minor Financial Responsibilities This concerns money spent for basic upkeep of the property, usually in the form of monthly or annual payments. Consider: how to determine, pay, and record yearly taxes and monthly/yearly maintenance funds how to determine, acquire and record additional assets or equipment □ VIII. Termination of Contract Changes in life sometimes demand changes in responsibilities. These situations often lend themselves to a re-evaluation or termination of an existing contract. Consider: the transfer or sale of an individual's share or investment (including determination of the property's value at the time of transfer) the choice of "tenants in common" (in death ownership passes to heirs) or "joint tenants with right of survivorship" (in death ownership passes to surviving owners) the conditions under which the property may be sold and how the proceeds will be distributed □ IX. Meetings For the most part, owners will be in frequent contact with one another, making formal group meetings unnecessary. If this is not the case, and even if it is, it may be worthwhile to schedule group meehngs so that visions and concerns can be discussed and key decisions reached. □ X. Amendments Try as we might to include every aspect of uncertainty the first go around, new information inevitably appears and needs to be addressed. Develop a procedure for the addition of new information to the existing contract. □ XI. Arbitration What, us disagree??? Hopefully not, but if you should ever find yourselves unable to resolve a dispute, a plan for the selection of an impartial arbitrator can save both time and money. □ XII. Date and Signatures This is it. The end. Oh boy! On the final page of your meticulously completed contract provide a space for the date, the place of signing, and the signature of each happy owner. You have read about communal ownership. You have a helpful example of a communal contract (see access) to model toward or from. Now you begin to write. Prepare yourselves for at least a full day's worth of discussion and writing. Fortify yourselves with wine and nutritious food. Be flexible. Be adaptable. After you proudly hold the finalized version of your communal contract, you have but one step remaining. Take the contract to a lawyer you respect and trust to certify that the legal lingo is correct and will stand up in your state against any potential dispute. If your lawyer says this is all illegal or impossible find yourself another lawyer, one who knows this rather innovative legal terrain. Once certified, sign it, date it, and welcome to communal ownership! □ □ Becky is a consultant and board member of the Matrix Institute in Applegate, OR.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz