Resources
As of 2025, Boston has launched a Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program to help groups purchase multifamily homes together. They have also created a Guide to Co-Purchasing with information for Bostonians specifically.
Practical Homosteading, a 2022 webinar by members of the Rêve, an intentional community in New York state, was one inspiration for this guide and discusses similar topics.
Many co-buyers have cited Diana Leafe Christian’s book Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities, New Society Publishers (2003) as an especially helpful resource for any kind of joint living project.
A related article based on the book, Diana Leafe Christian et al, Legal Structures for Intentional Communities in the United States, 173 Communities 46 (Winter 2016), focuses on options for legal structures. Similar information is contained in this guide, though our guide focuses on smaller groups. See also Diana Leafe Christian, Creating a Life Together, Chapter 15: Legal Entities for Owning Property, p170-188.
Resources on Housing Cooperatives from the Massachusetts Association of Housing Cooperatives (national resources, not just for Massachusetts)
Polyfriendly.org: Polyamory and kink friendly professionals
Family Law Institute Attorney Directory (from the LGBTQ+ Bar)
Texas: Stacey McLarty
New Jersey: Bill Singer
New York: Chosen Family Law Center for income-capped mediation, family law
Hadassah Damien, Ride Free Fearless Money for financials
Polyamory and kink friendly professionals list: polyfriendly.org
Live Near Friends (makes money by basically being a real estate agent)
Cobuy.io (makes money by basically being a real estate agent)
Many states or cities have first-time homebuyer programs that can assist with down payments or closing costs, like:
Boston’s Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program
New York’s HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program
DC’s Home Purchase Assistance Program
California’s MyHome Assistance Program
Live Near Friends (helps connect groups with lenders)
Cobuy.io (helps connect groups with lenders)
Nestment (focused on lending)
Specific lenders recommended by Nestment:
Steven Maizes, steven.maizes@ccm.com (any state, commercial, residential)
Ted Volynets, ted@hellotomo.com (40 states)
Megal Boyle, United Home Loans, megan@unitedhl.com
Creating a Life Together recommends bringing the following information to a meeting with the bank about a loan:
Loan application document
Appraisal for your intended property
Prices for comparable homes nearby (“comps”) and marketing data that supports the appraisal
Documentation on how you’ll repair or renovate (estimated costs, timetable, etc.) if applicable
Documents for your legal entity
Any approvals or permits from the county or municipality about zoning variances, use permits, or subdivision
Brief resumes, net worth statements, and credit reports for everyone who’ll co-sign on the loan.
See more on page 136.
If you’re low-income and live in NY, contact Chosen Family Law Center www.ChosenFamilyLawCenter.org
Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC www.DianaAdamsLaw.net
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists - search for open relationships and non-monogamy-friendly and kink-friendly
Practical Homosteading, a 2022 webinar by members of the Rêve, an intentional community in New York state, has a good discussion on rural queer communities and how to plug into existing communities instead of assuming you’ll start the first one.
It also discusses buying a piece of property with an existing building on it vs. building from scratch, and some aspects of sustainable land development and rural energy systems.
