Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Bank Lenders to Cohousing TIC

[Wendy Willbanks Wiesner (wwiesner]

Hello All,

I have posted in the past about the financing possibilities for cohousing
communities within NCB, as has Alice Alexander.

Partnerships for Affordable Cohousing (PFAC) and COHO US are working on a
loan program with NCB, as discussed within the affordability session at the
national conference.  During this session, Robert Jenkens, Sr. VP of Social
Impact Initiatives, NCB, spoke on the bank's behalf.  He is the person who
has become most familiar with cohousing, having taking the time to really
understand some particulars; notably, that cohousing comes with unique
social and economic elements that can diminish risk relative to other forms
of ownership.

This posting makes it clear that one of the next steps with NCB involves
clarifying if and/or how a centralized relationship could include a
decentralized component--ultimately beneficial if a national understanding
of cohousing could combine with knowledge of the local terrain in a way
increases approvals.

So how does NCB view the Bay Area-prevalent TIC form of ownership, as well
as the key distinctions vis a vis coops? How does TIC relate to the bank's
current central-office understanding of cohousing?

It is important to note that the NCB home office has already come to
understand  that cohousing communities often structure in whatever way is
simply necessary, just so ABC bank or municipality will not put up
roadblocks.

Getting over this hump--being able to say "cohousing" and actually have it
perceived/understood by an FI as something very positive--this is an
important part of what we are expecting from the NCB relationship.

Fern, I have put these questions out to NCB's Robert Jenkens (along with a
copy of this posting), and I will get back to the group with more detail.
Fortuitously, I have a call with him scheduled for 11 EST tomorrow, and if
there is more important detail to relay before this time, Fern, please drop
me a line at 303-881-6138.

Wendy

Wendy Willbanks Wiesner
Partnerships for Affordable Cohousing (PFAC)
affordablecohousing.org















Hi All,
We are looking for a bank that will make fractional loans to our members.
  We created our community expecting to get fractional loans but as we were
looking for our first loans, the bank bubble burst and all the fractional
loans for TICs disappeared.    Now they are back, but we have not been able
to find a bank willing to do this in Santa Cruz (CA) County.  We have a
perfect payment history, equity in our homes, a default fund, etc.


It is very complicated to sell any of our homes because the whole group
needs to submit their information all over again.   Also, our bookkeeping
is very complicated and we would all like to be more independent in this
way.


Anyway, that is the background. As I recall,  sometime in the last several
months, someone posted about National Cooperative Bank and that they are
eager to loan to cohousing groups. I couldn't find it in the archive.
Someone from our finance committee contacted them, we were referred to
someone in San Francisco, who was not open at all to considering us for a
loan because of our organization.   Did I get the name of the bank wrong?
 Do they have limited geographic areas that they loan in?  Or maybe someone
knows a different contact person there who can help us.
I would appreciate any information on this or any other bank.


Thanks,


Fern
New Brighton Cohousing
Aptos, CA

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