FAQs
Do you have your own kitchen?
Our group is welcoming and open. Some of us are single, some married, some middle-aged, some children, and some retired. We are actively seeking more families with young children to join our numbers. Cohousing is a great place for kids! There are lots of opportunities for them to learn new skills and make real contributions to community life.
Many of our members come from the Iowa City area, but we have lured folks from as far away as California, New Mexico, and even Canada! Many are active community volunteers, passionate bike riders, dog walkers, hikers, devourers of books, and people who love to sing and dance and pamper their pets. Our skills include design, housing finance, green building, permaculture, mediation, law, marketing, music, gardening and more. We have no common political or religious orientation, only a shared desire to live in a neighborhood of our own design that fosters an active life and supportive community living.
About Prairie Hill Cohousing
As Iowa's only cohousing community it makes sense that people have a lot of questions about what cohousing is and how things work at Prairie Hill. This is a list of some of the most common questions we get.
Sustainable Living
Our goal at Prairie Hill is to provide homes for people who wish to live simply and lightly on the earth. Each household has full access to the common house, playground, workshop and garden space. A portion of the 5,000-square-foot common house and the 7 acres of land is deeded with each home at closing. We are building small green homes constructed for performance. These homes are tight, quiet and airy with nine-foot ceilings and high quality windows. Our goals are light, openness and energy efficiency. The performance of these buildings has exceeded expectations. The sustainable features don’t stop with the buildings. We are landscaping with native, deep-rooted prairie plants that, when fully established, will keep storm water on our hilly site and out of the waterways.
How much does it cost to live at Prairie Hill?
Homeowners association fees
Homeowners association (HOA) fees are based on our yearly budget which is presented to all members for discussion and approval. The base HOA fee is currently $90 a month which includes high speed internet. An additional amount for replacement reserves is paid monthly and varies according to unit size from $75 to $114 per month. These reserves cover exterior maintenance of all units and common elements. The replacement reserve amount is determined by a professionally conducted replacement reserve study which is reevaluated regularly.
Property Taxes
Property taxes are assessed on each unit. Bills go directly to the homeowner and include a prorated portion of the taxes on the common house and the 7 acres of land. Taxes on a 670-square-foot unit are projected to be about $4,360 per year and on a 950-square-foot home they are projected to be around $6,000 per year.
Utilities
The green building features built into these units make the up-front costs a little higher but it pays off when it comes to monthly utility bills. Utility costs have come in at about half of what the modeling predicted. Electricity runs an average of $25-$50 per month, the larger homes a bit more. The addition of optional solar panels brings electricity costs down to close to net zero. Water-saving fixtures result in a water bill that often does not exceed the base charge of about $19 a month.
Insurance
Prairie Hill is a part of a condominium regime. The homeowners association carries the insurance on the exterior of homes. Each unit owner is assessed a portion of the bill prorated by home size which comes due in November. That assessment varies from $350-800 per year depending on home size. A standard condominium policy, taken out by owners covers the interior of the home and possessions. The policy runs around $250 per year depending on unit size, the value of possessions, deductible chosen, etc.