[19808] in APO-L
Re: The "House" issue
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David and Melodie)
Thu Dec 17 22:00:18 1998
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 18:50:44 -0800
Reply-To: David and Melodie <autiger@PE.NET>
From: David and Melodie <autiger@PE.NET>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
In-Reply-To: <199812170459.UAA16859@nospam.cts.com>
Brothers,
Some of you probably haven't heard from me for a long time, so hello to
everybody out there who I know.
From my many years of experience in Alpha Phi Omega, I can think of several
good reasons that chapters should not own a house:
1. A house can get expensive. When you pay rent, there are many things
that you don't have to deal with - such as repairs and insurance (insuring
your rental is easier than taking care of a house). And then there are
property taxes and other bits of accounting. Once there is a house, the
next thing to come could be party fees or social fees. The tenants will
certainly get tired of absorbing the cost of entertaining their brothers.
Some folks won't want to pay. Dues might go up. From there, it gets only
worse.
2. Most chapters that I have seen aren't responsible enough to own or run a
house (I'm sure there might be a few out there that can handle it). It
needs to stay occupied. Rent must be collected. I've known quite a few
brothers who can't keep their own finances straight. That insurance bill
has to be payed. What about food? Now we have to hire a cook or house mom.
Oops, dues just went up again. A lot of chapters can't even manage to
collect their national dues and send them off once a year or to register
their advisors. How are they going to handle these responsibilities? A
house isn't just a short-term project that will be over in a few months. It
is a commitment that will last decades.
3. A house ultimately leads to more risk for the National Office. Either
you are going to want them to finance/cosign the house or they will
eventually get called when the mortgage lapses. God forbid somebody get
hurt/hazed/die on the property. The fraternity doesn't have the insurance
to cover that.
A house would be fun, admitedly - until the whole thing just fell apart.
In Brotherhood
David Anderson
Delta Alum
Delta 1070/LM 13583
