The Words of the Simon Family
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The Words of the Simon Family |
Many of us first generation families are now in our fifties and at some time must have thought about how we will spend the latter years of our lives.
True Father talks repeatedly about three generations living together. While this is very much the ideal, within the next few years our children may have left home and not be at that stage in their life where they are inclined or ready to settle down with their parents. At the very least, it is probably prudent for us to have some contingency plan in mind.
Last year, my good friend Matthew Cohn and I stood on the shores near Lulworth Cove and engaged in some blue sky thinking. Here is a summary of the ideas we exchanged and subsequently developed for the creation of a heavenly silver-generation community.
In a nutshell, our hope is that we can grow old in the company of friends and families with whom we have shared so many dreams and experiences over the years, while building a community that can have a positive impact on the wider society. In practical terms, our vision is as follows:
Community members pool resources to acquire a substantial property in a rural or coastal area.
Within this property, each family has its own apartment or condominium.
There will also be communal facilities that include some or all of the following:
shared grounds and gardens
leisure facilities (e.g. swimming pool, tennis court, badminton, table tennis, snooker etc)
meeting room
launderette
Additionally, there may be:
Vegetable gardens
A chicken run
River, pond or lake with fishing rights
A restaurant, tea-house or coffee shop that could be run as a commercial activity to bring in income to the community.
Some units that could be rented out either as BandB or holiday homes.
Facilities that would permit the community to run workshops offering spiritual education to local or national audiences.
An extensive search will be required to find the right property, but if we have a strong determination, hopefully, spirit world will come to our assistance!
We may find a perfect property that needs little work. Alternatively, we may find a large run-down country estate in good structural condition but in need of extensive remodeling that fits the bill.
A cursory investigation suggests that with a total budget of £3-4 million, we should be able to find a property that will house a dozen or more families.
There will be members in a variety of situations. Some may have equity in existing homes. Some may have inheritances or other savings. Some may have income streams from pensions or entitlements.
Our proposal for financing the venture is as follows:
A company is formed to purchase and manage the property
Founder members put as much capital as they are able into the company, entitling them to a residence within the complex.
In return for every £100,000 invested, members should be entitled to a fixed annual "coupon" of, for example, £2,500 per year.
Residences within the complex should be "rented out" to their occupiers. Investors will be able to offset the coupon from their investment against the annual rent and maintenance fee. Investors putting in larger amounts will earn a net annual income. Investors putting in less may need to pay some rent. (We would need to find the most tax efficient way of structuring these arrangements.)
With such a structure, it should also be possible for some families with no capital, but with a pension, housing benefits or other entitlements to also be part of the community.
Such a structure should also enable people to come and go, sell their shares to others, bequeath them to their children, etc. Over time it is possible that the owners (shareholders in the company) and residents may diverge. However, it will be important from the outset to set up a management structure and bylaws that recognize and protect the interests of all stakeholders in the project.