Housing
 

My chapter is interested to purchasing an old fraternity house for our members to live in - we currently have housing on campus, and no other sorority chapter currently has off campus housing.
Just checking on the NPC regulations/any startup ideas for this project, as there is no reference to a situation like this in our Panhellenic Association Bylaws/Constitution.
Any help or stories would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Have you talked with your chapter adviser? As exciting as the prospect of a chapter house is, it does have the potential to be a negative. This is especially if you are the only chapter that has one. Is the house near campus? What is the additional cost per member to not only obtain the house, but to renovate and maintain? Will your campus require you to hire a house mother or the like? Hypothetically, would adding an extra $500-1000/member to your existing fees price you out of consideration? Your national housing corporation should be able to answer a lot of your questions.

As far as the Panhellenic Association is concerned, the non-university housing clause, for lack of a better term, may not be in the by-laws. It may be in a separate agreement with the university or an “understanding” among the NPC groups on your campus. The person in charge of university housing or the Greek Life Adviser may have to do some digging on that.

Before the discussion gets too serious, there is a lot that needs to be checked. First, your chapter adviser/ housing board needs to be involved. This is more than a bunch of friends renting a house together. Zoning needs to be checked. Fraternity/ sorority houses may be classified differently than a simple 'multi-family' dwelling (apartment building) or standard residential which allows multiple unrelated persons to share a dwelling. Even if a fraternity used to live there, did the zoning change when they moved out? Are there rules which forbid off-campus sorority houses? That could come from the town, or from the university.

If you are calling this off campus residence the ABC annex (that is, an official residence of your chapter), how will it affect your current on-campus house? You may be able to rent the house and live there, but would you be permitted to hang your letters? Hold meetings? Recruitment events? Social events? If you have an on-campus house, will you have sufficient interest to fill both? Remember that if you rent the house in the name of your organization, and hang up the letters or use it for official events, all of the same rules will apply.

Re: Housing
 

Really not enough info to go on?

1. What kind of Campus Housing do You live in?

2. Do You have enough Members to pay the Mortgage and live in the property?

3. Do You have a large Alum Base? House Corporation?

4. What does the School think?

5. What does Your HQ think?

A House can be a Money Pit. While it has many benefits, the cost is most important.

Is it a fixer upper or a move in?

How much work has to be done to it and who is going to do it?

I have been there so a little voice of Experience.

PM Me if you would like!:)

Don't worry about your school or national headquarters, just do it, it sounds like a good decision.

I'm assuming by old house you mean age wise, and living in a house thats been a fraternity house for over 100 years has been a cool experience. Its beaten up, has a thousand different quirks and stuff, and the rooms are huge and good looking. Beats the hell out of any on campus stuff out there.

You really can't just get a house without HQ being in your business about it when you're an NPC sorority.

And in some cases, you don't want to.

I know a chapter who tried to get a house and didn't follow any of the regular procedures (an individual alum bought the house) and it turned into a NIGHTMARE. As in she lived there as the landlord and partioned out things (food, etc).

Check with the procedures of your HQ, it could save a lot of headaches.....

A little late to this discussion, but an important issue that hasn't been mentioned is insurance. Liability coverage especially. Most "regular" companies won't touch a GLO house, so you'd have to go through your Nationals. On the plus side, your Nationals might be able to assist with fund raising and getting a secured loan/mortgage at a good rate.

I would recommend instead of just purchasing a house, look into renting it (if possible) for an extended period of time (5-10 years?) to see if it will actually work, since no other chapters on campus have an off-campus house.