One of the fraternities on campus wants to sell their house on located on University Loop. They wanted to know what we would be willing to pay. The numbers being bantered around at the BOD are between $450K and $600K. The house is 5,000 sq ft in size with 15 bedrooms. We expect to see 22 actives return in the fall.
The BOD conducted a Zoom meeting with Richmond Property Group (RPG) last month. To prevent any alumni from having to sign as a guarantor, we would need a 20% down payment.
That seems like a lot of money (and it is), but it is something we can achieve if 120 Alumni agree to donate $1,000 each. We already have more than $16,000 in commitments.
This is the best and cheapest opportunity I have ever seen for getting a house on campus. Based on our zoom conference with RPG, it would cost us over $1M to build what we can buy for half that amount. There is no market for that house, so Fair Market Value is not a price consideration. The Fraternity’s National Foundation had to bail out the local chapter’s loan when they lost their charter, and they appear to just want their money back.
Because rent, electricity and gas would be eliminated from our chapter’s current expenditures, those represent cost offsets, meaning the chapter can redirect those funds to pay the annual parlor fee and be no worse off than they are now.
Everyone pays rent and utilities to stay in their current apartment. When the actives move into the house, we would collect that rent (if we owned the house), and they would be no worse off than they are today. The goal is for those living in the house to pay rent that is less than or equal to what they are paying now. Utilities and insurance would be covered by the parlor fee. The rent and parlor fee collections would service the debt, pay the annual insurance and utilities and that is AFTER assuming the house is vacant over the summer months (which it won’t be). After raising the down payment, timing is the next big challenge. The actives have to sign a lease and we want the movie in date to coincide with the expiration of their leases.
All the “ifs,” above are based on the question: Can we raise $120K by Spring Semester?
Will you support the acquisition by donating money to the house fund?