Mariposa Grove

2BR Unit now for sale!

Playful shared meals, clucking chickens, children, artists, cooperative economics, outdoor movies, bicycles, musicians, gardens, bees, healers, social change work, biodiesel, fruit trees...

These are some of the things you'll find in North Oakland... at Mariposa Grove.

Is this for you?

COHOUSING/INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY - 2BR CONDO (potentially) FOR SALE
Sales Price: approximately $70,000 (after subsidies)
Income limits apply

Applicants must attend an open house! See below for details.

MARIPOSA GROVE (open house info below)
"Mariposa grove is a member-owned, consensus-based intentional community in an urban setting that supports sustainability, social justice activism, creativity and the arts. We are creating a permanently affordable home, a physical and social space where we share resources and responsibilities, grow together and support each other to fulfill our personal dreams while providing a model for the larger community of which we are a part." - Mission Statement of Condo Association

We have a rich web of relationships and history among the adults and children living here. Our community culture attempts to reflect our mission, supporting us and our society.

We're also just plain good folk. We enjoy a good time, both together and separately. Most of us have also been involved in both the arts, social change and/or sustainability work. Among the folks here (both in the affordable condos and in the house next door) we include 5 couples, 4 single adults, 5 children under 6, and a 14 yr old and 2 part-time resident college students. Hopefully you'll get a bit of a sense of some of us at an open house. We have bios of many of us in the application packet.

We are actually seeking a backup purchaser. There is already a couple trying to buy the unit. Due to odd complications of the national credit crisis they may be unable to buy the home. If they are denied a loan, we will invite whoever has agreed to be our backup purchaser to move in, with no further application process.

All applicants must attend one of our open houses, read all materials supplied, and complete a written application. A description of our community, open house & application information, membership criteria and directions are contained in this email after the description of the units available.

UNIT DESCRIPTION

828B 59th St. - 2 BR approx. 634 sq. ft. apartment
First floor apartment, multi-pained glass door opens out to the courtyard. Living room and kitchen window look out into the backyard. Both bedrooms have ample closets; convenient eat in kitchen with refrigerator and gas stove. Gas heated. Beautiful, unique, hardwood floors, trim, & little details like decorative door knobs. Terra Cotta style tiles in bathroom and kitchen. Photos are on the Mariposa Grove website listed below.

Financial Details
Purchase Price: $218,792
Subsidies Available: $134,000 - $147,000 (depending on income & assets)
Estimated Monthly Cost: ~$1040-$1120, (depending on income & assets, Including mortgage, taxes, condo fees, etc. - based on $10,000 downpayment and good credit)
Likely Necessary Annual Income: $35,000
Maximum Annual Income:
$46,350 (for a 1 person household), $53,000 (for a 2 person household), $59,600 (for a 3 person household)
Minimum Downpayment: $6,564 (Required before move-in. Applied to purchase as part of down payment)
Move in: Unclear. Depends on when it becomes clear we need invite the backup purchaser to move in.
Monthly Rent if you move in before Close of Escrow to Purchase: $1,236 (+ supplies fee)

This cohousing community recently finished converting to condominiums. It could take several months to obtain a loan to buy the unit. During this time it may be possible (or necessary if it takes especially long) to rent the unit. Since the unit will be purchased by our new member, applicants must prequalify with a bank for a loan to buy the unit as part of the application process. This does not need to be done before submitting an application.

If your income is higher than the maximum above for your household size, your application cannot be considered.This is also for people who have not owned a home during the last 3 years (possible exceptions for displacement due to divorce, or comparable situations).

Depending on your income & household size, from $134,000-$147,000 in combined subsidies will be available for you from the city of Oakland, the state, and the nonprofit we are affiliated with for first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance. This is what will keep the monthly purchase cost as low as listed above.

THE COMMUNITY (more info in person and in application packet)
Condo association- 3 buildings on 2 lots sharing back, side and front yards. Total of 6 units, plus a common unit, cohousing style. Willow House, an adjacent house, is legally separate but we are in most ways socially one community and share resources (like our yard and gardens).

Physically we're about 10 min from Ashby Bart in North Oakland, close to Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, independently owned cafes and farmers markets. We're a collective/cooperative/consensus-based group, and we eat together about twice a week right now. There's also lots of shared space - our common unit contains shared living & dining rooms, a kitchen, guest room, laundry, art room, office, and more. Our community hosts fruit trees and gardens, 6 chickens, bees, a children's play area, a cozy swing nestled in back yard, a firepit, kiwi vines, many fruits and vegetables growing around the back and front yards, a covered workshop area, an enclosed deck, especially good for classes and gatherings, and open decks ideal for quiet contemplation over morning coffee/tea.

The community was founded in 1999 and a friendly non-profit (Northern California Land Trust - NCLT) purchased the condo property in 2005. Mariposa Grove condo members are co-owners with the Land Trust and formed an LLC corporation which oversees the property and has worked with NCLT to do the condoization (should finish in early May).

Condo fees include water, sewer & garbage but not PG&E. There is also a small household fee assessed per adult that covers supplies like toilet paper, DSL, laundry soap, dish soap, community retreats, chicken feed and some shared entertainment.

OPEN HOUSES & APPLICATION
We are having two open houses for anyone interested in the units:
Sunday, November 9th, 10am-12pm
Saturday, November 15th, 12pm-2pm

We will hand out applications and other materials at the open house. We will not distribute applications by email, or at any other time other than open houses.

If you are interested, you MUST come to one of the open houses. Applications are due Tuesday, Nov 18.

If we invite you to an interview you will need to submit additional financial information. This includes 3 years of tax returns, recent pay stubs and a credit report as part of the application process, both to verify that your income is not too high, and to make sure you will be able to get a loan. You will also need to prequalify for a loan within a few days of the interview.

If you want to learn more about Mariposa Grove, peruse our website and bring any questions you might have to the open house. Please do not email questions. We expect many people will be interested and we can't commit to responding to them via email. Thank you for your understanding and interest.

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA
The owners of the affordable condos will be selecting our new member/purchaser.
Here is part of what we will look at in choosing a new member.
More details are in the application packet.
- desire to live in a cooperative/collective environment
- willingness, interest, & ability to share the
workload of organizing the community including
attending regular group meetings
- willingness & interest in cooking for the group
semi-regularly
- skills in dealing with conflicts
- emotional and communication skills
- involvement in social justice/social change
work/activism
- interest and ability to carry projects that will
make Mariposa beautiful, interesting and open to
broader communities
- creative, artistic sensibility
- experience living or working in diverse environments

DIRECTIONS
Mariposa Grove
828, 832 & 834 59th St., Oakland
cross street Martin Luther King Jr. Way

via BART: get off at Ashby. Come out on the west side of the station (towards MLK rather than Adeline), cross MLK, and walk South down MLK. Stay on MLK as it goes under the BART tracks. Turn right on 59th St. to 828 & 832.

via CAR/FREEWAY: take 580 to rte 24, then take the 51st Street/MLK exit (first exit). Stay to the left for MLK. 59th street is the 3rd light. Turn left onto 59th and go to 828 & 832.

BOTH: 828 & 832 are a little past halfway down the block, on the right. One house is green with red & yellow trim the other is yellow with red & cream trim. Down the driveway
in the middle is the backyard and where you will likely find people. Give a yell if you need to. If you don't find someone quickly, knock on any door.