Community-living sustainably self-sufficient

Community-living with only a couple of households

Community-living via Cohousing provides the benefits of multi-generational skills and wisdom to successfully Grow our own fruit & vegetables, DIY [making & fixing things], living sustainably, biodynamic gardening – Perth hills lifestyle.

Community-living with 1 maybe 2 other households involves sharing the large yard, garden, rainwater, solar PV & 23kw battery. Located only 6km to Midland train with adequate bus service. The layout preserves the large yard, the environment, trees, birdlife, even the occasional visits by kangaroos on the cul-de-sac.  Inspired by Ecodorp Boekel-sdg10 and their vision style 🙂  which is a grand scale project in comparison. We plan to live in a similar way social way, without any government funding. So we are looking for residents who are very committed to contributing time and effort to this lifestyle, as described on the links to Boekel’s website and below Building opportunities are available with private investment.

Rental Opportunity is Available in August, 2023

GARDEN FLAT

In the brand new strawbale living room extension to the GARDEN FLAT partly furnished [own bedroom furniture welcome or can be supplied] & gardens:–  1×1, which has a stable rent of  $350/week for a very careful, clean mature person/couple 70m2, lots of double-glazed argon-filled windows & double glass doors for winter sun, top quality roof insulation, Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme* Certificate Number: OILOFDKB01 Date of Certificate: 4 Feb 2020. Price inclues some gardening assistance.

NHERS Energy Star rating: 7.7 / 10

 Please  Email to tell us about yourself and what you’re looking for in your lifestyle and your community lifestyle experience in the Email after you’ve read all the information, please.

Spacious main house 3 x 1, separate toilet, 2 living areas Rent to Buy Opportunity is Available 

If you have always dreamed of living the healthy, relaxed Perth hills lifestyle – this spacious 3 x 1, separate toilet, is your opportunity – but only for the right family or group of 2-3 housemates who want this type of almost self-sufficient lifestyle  Preference given to home-owners who have been forced out due to escalating mortgage problems. People interested in making it their home for the long-term are most desirable. Future ‘Community Living’ Opportunities for the right people to eventually buy into what will eventually be a Coop/small company-owned property. Yes, I’m looking for the right people to possibly eventually buy in and share this property when I return to retire in the garden flat. An absolute non-smoking property.

Please write about what attracts you to the community lifestyle, and how you see yourselves participating, what handyperson skills?

Rental Options Available more photo’s on public application Ad

3 x 1 for a family or 2-3 adults $500/week but another option is to add your own careful couple or single person to RENT in the sustainable self-contained flat — all for $700/week incl. 5 hours garden/maintenance/week is another combination for this large property? or
• Spacious sustainable self-sufficient 3×1 house shares garden with tenants you help find for self-contained sustainably built flat $250 – also available to move into in July, 2023.
• 🙂 You get a discount of $50/ once you have helped find good people to rent the granny flat, – share the garden and the work involved such as watering, pruning and weeding. Their rent payments decrease yours by helping pay for the sustainable features – give you a secure, stable price for power and free garden water until the last month of summer.
🙂 The granny flat occupants need to be acceptable to house tenants and the owner 🙂

The long-term goal is to provide an opportunity for residents to buy in as stated below:-) But in the meantime, people who love the lifestyle can enjoy cheap rent and contribute to the work involved in living a sustainable lifestyle. Have a look at public listing  or Domain for inspections times and more photos 🙂

Have a look at  sustainable development goals (SDGs) exemplified in Boekel Ecodorp’s own project to see our future vision for the place and hopefully in the future, we can purchase a neighbouring property, when they want to sell, and grow into a village… What if another dream came true?

Imagine only travelling 30km to Perth city and returning to a daily experience of wildlife, flowers and National Park winter creek waterfalls…fresh fruit & vege at a fully self-sustainable property 300m from Greenmount Hills National Parks. The Midland train is 6km by bus/car and only takes 25 minutes – quicker than Fremantle and Joondalup to Perth !

If you, or somebody you know,  have always dreamed of living the healthy Perth hills lifestyle… this is your opportunity – but only for the right mature, careful people who want this type of lifestyle An absolute non-smoking property. You need three written references who will also be contacted. 

  Weekly payments for Utilities consumption covers what doesn’t exceed previous years’ normal consumption. And, you need to pay for your own contents insurance as it won’t be included in the landlords’ insurance.

Imagine having NO surprise bills, other than your car. Not worrying about prices of fruit & vegetables or lack of availability

Community-living    means that the occupants of the property need to invest some hours/week collaboratively working on jobs that are part of the self-sufficiency project, looking after the gardens/ fruit trees that feed you and maintain houses in self-sufficient ‘own-home’ ways See how it works in larger established project. Rent can be reduced by doing extra jobs on the property

• Of course I am lucky and old enough to have experienced what it means to be part of the hills community where people in the whole Shire gather together and support each other with community spirit not just when there’s a bushfire or flood … to build what is now known as Social Capital.

Please  Email   to tell me about yourself and what you’re looking for in your lifestyle and your relevant experience – in the Email  after you’ve read all the information, please.

Sustainable Focus Self-sufficient Community-living

The property has already maximised solar passive benefits and lowest impact on the environment. This includes aesthetics which blend into the surroundings so that neighbours would barely see the building – something you’d never find in a rental in the greater Perth area.

• An Aerobic Treatment Unit [ATU] to suit the community’s requirements provides reticulation to fruit trees & grapevines planted around the property. Of course no oils, fats or sanitary things can go down drain, like all septic systems.
• Fire retardant trees, vines and sustainable building materials are preferred, although shadecloth is still used while vegetation grows.
• Rainwater tanks have supplied the dwellings, vege gardens and all other vegetation on this 1452m2 green block for over 6 years.
• Solar PV and battery storage has met all the house needs for nearly 2 years now. Good as off-grid, but still connected for  summer 7c credits exchange for grid consumption in the dead of winter when heating exceeds sunshine – due to built up credit in summer – if you use shadecloth rather than excessive a/c !

Only a few minute’s walk to Greenmount National Park, about 17 mins walk to buses or 6 km drive to Midland train station.

More information and lots of photos/videos of building the flat living area on https://www.facebook.com/SustainableCohousingLifestyle and Sustainable Development Goals. The ‘not old but mature’ owner is passionate about sustainable Community-living and acquired the property in 2013 to provide affordable, shared accommodation to women during that rental crisis. She also previously provided affordable accommodation to all people via Air BnB, but is now looking to settle with more permanent rental residents in the available spaces, and if you decide, you can start buying in.

Yes, I’m looking for the right people to possibly eventually buy in and share this property which is 1,453 ㎡, with 153,300 litres of rainwater collected each winter.

Initially, the co-house-mates rent while we all work together modifying and adapting agreements created by other small communities.

The most commonly preferred decision-making style is to work together like a Cooperative, and the Company could become the sole owner [which happens to suit the Shire’s ownership requirements of the block].

The most time and cost-effective way that purchase could begin is via buying shares in the ‘Company P/L’ that is already set up.

There is also the possibility of using the Co-housing Model which most commonly is based upon ‘Tenants in Common’ regulations. More information on this model can found at Cohousing Australia Group Forum

Imagine waking to bird chorus,

• showering in rainwater, drinking pure filtered rainwater,
• using solar PV’s and home battery storage system,
• growing more vegetables, fruit and
• daily wildflower & bushwalks while living only 30 km from Perth CBD in the relaxed Hills community lifestyle

  

Please tell me about yourselves and what you’re looking for in your lifestyle and your relevant experience in Email 

Community Living Future Opportunities

1. There is potential for 3 households to live on this property, but the third unit [parent’s retreat] needs development to achieve own upstairs private kitchen and living areas. A 4th dwelling can go over main house too.
2. The most commonly preferred next step is to rent for a period while possibly developing an Agreement & method to buy into the 3 x 1 house. It is fine to remain as a rental tenant who treats the property like it was their own in cooperation with all other community members living on the property. This is true ‘social’ housing.
3. More information on the Community-Living models of ownership can begin at Cohousing Groups Australia based upon a Co-housing Model. Information and support links for the Cooperative and other models can begin at definition of Cohousing with more info about smaller privately-owned projects at https://buildingcommunity.nl/projecten/.

Common Questions about living in Perth Hills are addressed in pages like:-

Manage  Fire Risk Stress-free

Compost Weeds & easy-management tips 🙂

What are Good or Bad weeds?

Rainwater pump and ‘water in tank’ tests and checklist

Septic tank & pipes Inspection / Fix checklist

Food Compost