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Plan & Build Consensus Case Study

Published
October 30, 2023
Updated
November 4, 2024

To drive it home (sorry, we couldn't help ourselves!), here's a real-life case study on co-buying and co-ownership that involves our co-founder Pam Hughes.

Details:

👤 Co-buyer: Pam Hughes, CoBuy co-founder & COO

👥 Group Type: Relatives, including married couples

🏠 Property Type: Second home (cabin)

📍Geography: Boundary Waters, Minnesota

Pam in a hammock outside the cabin she co-owns with relatives in Northern Minnesota.
The only upgrade to our Minnesota cabin over the last 75 years is this hammock.
"Personally, my immediate family bought in to a cabin decades ago with two of my husband's siblings. The property had been in my husband's family since childhood. There was no mortgage, but the cabin is old and in a place where the weather takes a toll on the property. We didn't think much about the commitment when we joined in. We were young with kids who would love growing up with summer visits to the 'Lake House.'

Today, we are reverse engineering into a co-ownership arrangement. The place needs to be razed and rebuilt, or so my husband and I think. One of the siblings wants nothing about the cabin changed. We no longer enjoy visiting since the place does not meet our safety and comfort standards. Nonetheless, we are financially obligated to support the cabin's care and upkeep. While the expenditure is small, it would pay for a nice vacation elsewhere each year. The bottom line is that it's harder to change things after the fact and back into an agreement. Had we built a plan in advance, we would have created a different experience."

- Pam Hughes, CoBuy co-founder & COO

Matt Holmes and Pam Hughes are co-founders of CoBuy, Inc.

Course Authors

Matt Holmes (LinkedIn) is co-founder and CEO of CoBuy, formed in 2016 to unlock homeownership for everyone. Before hopping a flight to Seattle to start CoBuy with his mother, Matt worked in investment banking and financial markets in London for a decade. He holds degrees from University College London (BSc Economics) and ESCP Business School (Masters, London & Turin).

Pam Hughes (LinkedIn) is Co-founder and COO at CoBuy. She has over 40 years of experience across finance, real estate, insurance, and construction. Pam has committed to personal empowerment through financial education for decades, which inspired her to start CoBuy with her son in 2016. She's best friends with a small dog known as Francis.

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