If you are interested in joining Goolawah Co-operative, it is possible to become a member and buy a share as people do move on from the Co-op. Members are allocated individual home improvement sites of approx. 5,000m2 or 1.25 acres, which are grouped together in several ‘hamlets’. Members have an entitlement to a licence to occupy this allocated site.
Goolawah co-operative owns all the land on behalf of its members. Please be aware that you are not buying land, rather you are buying a share in a co-operative with its associated entitlements and any improvements that an allocated site contains (e.g. dams, gardens, sheds, etc).
Below are five things that will help you learn more about Goolawah and decide if you would like to join us. You can do these in any order you wish
- Look around our website, there is information on where we are, what we are about and photos, becoming a member and costs involved.
- Visit the land and talk to people in the co-operative. Use the “contact us” section of our website and someone will get in touch to show you around. Alternatively just turn up, approach members and explain that you are interested in joining Goolawah and they will be happy to talk to you if they have the time.
- Find a site you like and someone willing to sell. Print out maps of Goolawah from our “Our Place” section of the website which shows all the site numbers and neighbourhoods. A list of members who are selling is given in step 2 below “Negotiating a Sale Price”. You can also put an advertisement in our quarterly newsletter with your contact details, what you are looking for and your price range and a member who wishes to sell may contact you. Alternatively if there are particular site(s) you really like then see if you can make an offer to the member.
- Continue to learn more about Goolawah and how co-operatives and communities work. Do some research on how co-operatives and communities work by reading books, articles and searching the Internet. Make contact with more members, make further visits to Goolawah, come to our social events (we have pizza nights, cricket games, Sunday morning yoga), come as a visitor to observe our meetings and how we make decisions.
- If you like what you see and hear, and decide that you would like to join us, apply for membership, our application process is designed to help you get to know more about Goolawah and give us a chance to get to know you. If you have already been visiting Goolawah and meeting people then a number of these steps will already be completed. We have a membership committee who will be happy to answer questions you have about the process and help you as much as they can.
If you want more information on joining Goolawah, the following links give details of the steps and costs involved. Steps 1 and 2 can be worked through simultaneously, but it is necessary to complete these first two steps before your membership and share transfer can be finalised as outlined in step 3.
Step 1) Apply to Become a Member »
Step 2) Negotiate a sale price with a member who wishes to sell »
Step 3) Pay Entry Costs, Finalise Membership and Share Transfer »
