FFF - absolutely agree about members having "responsibilities" - I'm the finance guy for our group. Sharing of duties is essential! My point was "equality in shareholding/ownership".
Stedders - insurance. In our group, on a Piper Arrow, we had a new member who was below the 100 hours. The insurers asked for an extra premium (about £200 as I recall) and said the insurance excess would be doubled when he was flying, until he got to 100 hours.
Looking at the aircraft: if you're serious, have an engineer look at it, or go and talk to the maintenance firm that looks after it, or both. But before you spend money on an engineer, look at the aircraft. Is it neat, tidy, free of old crisp packets etc? Is the "towbar" in the boot? Does it have lifejackets and/or a dinghy? Does it look "cared for"? If you are likely to want to care for your aircraft, and the present members don't this isn't going to be a happy relationship.