Cottage Rules

The Cottage Rules sets out no-nonsense, easy-to-use guidelines for cottage owners who share ownership with others. It deals with everything from succession to laundry. The rules work to prevent conflicts, so that your relationship with your partners can be either as close or as distant as you desire. This book shows cottage owners how to manage their cottage like a business, which in turn prevents disputes and frees their time and energy so they can use it to enjoy the cottage. With four cornerstones to the system (meetings, bookings, banking, and work weekends), the rules are easy to implement, flexible, and reliable. The Cottage Rules can help owners attain their dream of peaceful cottage ownership.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi
CREED xiii
INTRODUCTION xv
Why Use These Rules xvi
Who Can Use These Rules xvii
1. HOW OUR COTTAGE RULES EVOLVED 1
Bush Camp 2
Manitoulin 2
Inheriting the Cottage 3
Coming Together 3
2. OVERVIEW 5
The Eight Steps 5
v
Contents
Your New Business - The Cottage 6
A foundation for the Rules 6
3. THE COTTAGE CORNERSTONES 9
The Basics 9
Meetings 11
Booking 13
Double booking 14
Collection 15
Time limits 15
Reminders 16
Bumping 16
First come, first served 16
4. MONEY & BANKING 17
User Fees 17
When to charge fees 18
What to charge 19
The Ledger: Keeping Track 21
Banking 21
Naming your accounts 25
The double signature 25
Borrowing money 26
Realtors work 27
Insurance 27
Succession Planning 28
The will 28
5. A WRITTEN HISTORY 29
The Log Book 29
Website 30
vi The Cottage Rules
6. CARE & MAINTENANCE 37
Work Weekends 37
Spring Cleaning 38
Preparing for the Off Season 38
Each Visit 41
Using the Lists 41
7. PANTRY & LAUNDRY 43
Guests 46
Cooking for guests 46
Clothing 46
Laundry - Why Change the Sheets? 48
With or without a cottage linen supply 48
No washing machine 49
With a washing machine 49
Security - Keys to Your Success 50
Storage 51
Safe storage: Non-shared items 51
Things you may want to store 51
Donations - Cash and in Kind 52
8. LOVE YOUR ENVIRONMENT ...
GET CONNECTED 53
Gardening 54
Bird feeders 54
Do It Naturally 54
Garbage 56
Energy 56
Rain barrels 56
Keeping It Chartreuse 57
Contents vii
9. PAPERWORK CAN BE GOOD ... 59
Emergency Numbers 59
First-aid Kit 61
10. WRAPPING IT UP 63
APPENDIX: THE COTTAGE RULES
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT 65
GLOSSARY 75
SAMPLES
1. Sample Agenda 12
2. Estimate of Expenses, Account "B" 20
3. The Ledger for Account "B" 22
4. Yearly Expenses, Account "A" 24
5. Log Book 32
6. Spring Opening Up: To Do List 39
7. Fall Closing Down: To Do List 40
8. Checking Out Checklist 42
9. Basic Pantry Checklist 44
10. Meal-planning Checklist 47
11. Emergency Telephone Numbers 60
12. First-aid Kit Checklist 62