ethical loans

skybluebill

The estate I live on is, small (31houses/flats) privately owned and run by a residents association set up as a non profit making limited company. We need to re-render the exteriors of the 4 blocks of flats and to do this need to borrow around £160,000 over 10 years or more. The estate's annual income is around £40,000 from maintenance charges levied by the limited company. I've approached the banks and been refused, approached housing associations and been ignored and don't know who else to ask. Are there any ethical lenders who would be prepared to discuss this idea or are there any other alternatives we can look at?

foxy-stoat

Get each of the households to take out a personal loan for £5161 each and charge the Ltd company for the finance.

What does the Ltd company spend the £40,000 on?

Not sure if you can sell your situation on the basis of ethics.

TrickyDicky101

OP I have no idea why you mention ethical loans or why you think a Housing Association would be interested.

For future consideration, perhaps a sinking fund should be set up and funded to meet future costs such as these.

In the meantime perhaps you could scale back on your plans and therefore reduce the amount you wish to borrow (and spend) and thus perhaps kindle more interest in the banks to lend?

Ergates

Before people can help, you need to define what you mean by "ethical lenders"?

Is it the source of the money (i.e. where the lender got it from) you're concerned about?

Gaz83

I'm guessing OP means reputable, rather than ethical.

Ergates

Gaz83 wrote: »

I'm guessing OP means reputable, rather than ethical.

I wonder if their definition of "ethical" is "Willing to do what I want them to do"

antrobus

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Get each of the households to take out a personal loan for £5161 each and charge the Ltd company for the finance....

Not much point in that really.

If the households charge the non profit making limited company for the finance, it will charge that cost to the, err households.

Basically, with any estate you have to anticipate that there will be 'major works', as in the around £160,000 cost of re-rendering the exteriors of the 4 blocks of flats. Either you build up a sinking fund over a number of years, or you wait until the work is needed and issue an invoice.

What the residents association/limited company needs to do is issue each of the residents with a bill for £5,161 or whatever, to pay for the re-rendering. The residents can please themselves as to how they raise the money.

Gaz83

antrobus wrote: »

Not much point in that really.

If the households charge the non profit making limited company for the finance, it will charge that cost to the, err households.

Basically, with any estate you have to anticipate that there will be 'major works', as in the around £160,000 cost of re-rendering the exteriors of the 4 blocks of flats. Either you build up a sinking fund over a number of years, or you wait until the work is needed and issue an invoice.

What the residents association/limited company needs to do is issue each of the residents with a bill for £5,161 or whatever, to pay for the re-rendering. The residents can please themselves as to how they raise the money.

Yep, absolutely this.

Although the residents may wonder what their £40,000 annual maintenance budget is spent on.

foxy-stoat

antrobus wrote: »

Not much point in that really.

If the households charge the non profit making limited company for the finance, it will charge that cost to the, err households.

What the residents association/limited company needs to do is issue each of the residents with a bill for £5,161 or whatever, to pay for the re-rendering. The residents can please themselves as to how they raise the money.

Isn't what you have said the same thing?

The Residents Association are struggling to secure the funds needed for the works so the residents all get a loan (or pay out of their own savings).

They wont get charged for all of it I would assume - hence the second question, what does the £40K get spent on? Maybe part of that is the sinking fund.....who knows.

antrobus

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Isn't what you have said the same thing?
...

Err, no.

You said;

Get each of the households to take out a personal loan for £5161 each and charge the Ltd company for the finance.

I was simply noting that this would be a bit pointless. Since the Ltd company would just bill back the cost. The households would have to bear the finance cost themselves. Or not, depending on how much cash they had.

Brock_and_Roll

First thing to do would be sack whichever of the residents has been running the residents company.

You do not suddenly need to spend £160k on re-rendering. This should have been planned years in advance and a proper sinking fund established with flat owners charges adjusted accordingly.