Co-Buying brings together three women at Rooted Northwest

Affordability is one of the biggest barriers to home ownership. One solution is buying a home with multiple people. At Rooted Northwest, we welcome co-buying groups who want to buy a home and live together. Kathy shares what co-buying looks like for her at Rooted Northwest to inspire others considering this path to a home.

As post-COVID construction prices took off, Iris, Diane, and I came together in a co-buying group to take advantage of one of the well-designed 4-bedroom, 2-bath townhomes at Rooted Northwest.  We each joined Rooted Northwest for separate reasons and each had our lives entangled in the beauty, legacy, and conviviality that is Rooted Northwest. We became friends and, since we each came from a background of living with other people, decided we would work together to see if a co-living, co-buying arrangement could be successful. 

So far, members of “The Dogwood” (our tentative name for our group) have met in person several times, exploring our lives to ensure no “deal-breakers”  exist. What we found was a mutual excitement for the next phase of our lives living in community, and a supportive friendship that will deepen over the years to come.

The 4-bedroom townhome at the west end of the village was an immediate choice for us.  The two downstairs bedrooms and full bath allow for aging in place, and the outside patio upstairs allows for pleasant outdoor living.  The home is large enough to accommodate three people easily, and splitting the cost allows us each to move in without a mortgage. 

We learned that before buying together, it was important for each of us to get our lives in order, such as drawing up a solid will/trust and power of attorney.  These may change, but is the first step recommended by all the resources for people entering into mutual agreements.  

At present, a limited liability company (LLC) is the legal form that our co-buying group will use, as it protects the group from financial pressures that might happen to any individual member.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have a potential co-buying group that would like to explore the possibilities!

Resources

• https://reasonstobecheerful.world/cobuying-real-estate-housing-affordability/
• Supernuclear - one of our favorite resources exploring coliving:  https://supernuclear.substack.com/p/introducing-supernuclear-a-guide-to-coliving-a6f407933b62
• https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-to-start-an-llc-in-7-steps
• https://blog.gocobuy.com/co-buying/
• https://amymckennahomes.com/living-in-partnership-resources
• https://www.bankruptcy-law-seattle.com/Articles/should-i-create-a-real-estate-co-ownership-agreement-with-my-partner/
• https://apps.sos.wa.gov/corps/limitedliabilitycompaniesllconlineandpaperregistrations.aspx
• https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/llc/washington
• Meet others to find potential co-buyers
  •  Cohousing.org Seekers Directory
  • IC.org’s Community Classifieds
• 2016 piece on families raising kids in cohousing:  https://www.parentmap.com/article/puget-sound-families-cohousing-and-homeshares
  
• 2025 Seattle Times article on co-buying (may be behind paywall): https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattle-friends-reinforce-their-bonds-with-joint-homeownership/
  
• KUOW piece re: co-buying with Seattle Times reporter: https://www.kuow.org/stories/friends-roommates-co-homeowners