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We have formed the Eta Epsilon Scholarship Housing board that currently consists of myself, John Maceluch, Mike Rosen, Rob Kasper, Dan Dawson, and Matt Hale. If there is anyone that is interested in joining the housing board please let me know as we would like to add a few more members. You do not have to be in Tally in order to be on the board just a willingness to be involved in housing issues regarding the chapter and anyone with a background in the housing field (real estate, construction, legal issues, architecture, etc..) are encouraged to join. We currently are under contract for a property on College avenue about a block and a half away from the 447 W. College Ave house. Here are the latest updates and specifics:

We have traded offers with the owner and settled on $420,000. This is in line with market price for the location and while we are not getting a great buy we are not overpaying either. The key to the deal is that the owner is willing to finance the house which is huge considering the economy and difficulty getting financing right now. The main stipulation is that someone or group personally guarantee 80k of the loan if it goes into default before it is paid off. If this were to happen then they would have first right to purchase the property or pay the owner 80k to let it go. Nationals is not willing to do this as they have gotten burned on housing purchases in the past, so thankfully Keith Hendley and his wife Misa have offered to do that, which is a huge gesture and cannot thank them enough and instrumental in getting the deal done. The hope is this will not be an issue, but if something does happen that the chapter is no longer able to cover the mortgage, then the housing board will exhaust all other options available before letting the loan go into default. In addition to the owner financing the owner is also providing a secondary loan of up to $80k to make renovations to the house and any upgrades that will be needed. Mike Rosen, founding father, did a walk thru of the house on Monday and will be contracted to complete the renovations that are needed and estimates that it should cost well below the full amount of the loan in order to have the house ready for the fall.

Randy Webster, an alumnus from Southern Illinois University who has been instrumental in getting us to this point, met with the undergrads last week and there are currently 8 guys that have signed intent to lease forms for the fall. With an estimate of 8-10 guys being able to live in the house this should put us near or at capacity depending on the renovations and is huge considering the chapter currently sits at about 40 guys and most of the guys have already signed leases for the fall semester by now. When we did the walk thru there were about 8 guys from the chapter there and they are excited about the possibility of owning our own house and the expectations for social functions as well as increasing the membership of the chapter. With several members in town for the summer they will be instrumental in providing cheap labor in order to get the house ready for the fall.

So currently we are scheduled to close on the house around the 20th of next month. The final thing we need to come up with is the closing costs. Matt Hale is acting as our broker in the sale of the house and is generously donating his percentage of the sale back to the chapter as part of the closing costs which should come to 10-12k. In addition, the chapter will be moving out of their current location in Heritage Grove in August and should get back most of the 10k security deposit they put down when they first moved in and that will go towards closing costs also. So according to the estimates, that should leave us about 10-12k short of the total needed to close which is where I need your help. I know this is not the best timing but we need the support of the entire alumni group in order to make this a reality. The last time SAF has asked for any significant donations was right after Hurricane Katrina, and we were able to raise over $5000 in less than a months time in order to assist five of our alumni who were affected by that catastrophe and that was back in 2005 and at the time we had only located about half of the current 450 plus alumni to assist with the effort. That is over 5 years ago, so I am now asking again for assistance for another good cause that will be an important step in realizing the goals for Eta Epsilon that were envisioned over 20 years ago when we first colonized Sigma Pi at Florida State University. In addition to the alumni group we will also be asking for donations from other local Sigma Pi alums from other chapters as well as any of the undergrads whose parents are willing to contribute, but it will be the Eta Epsilon alumni that will need to step up in order to reach our goal.

With less than a month till closing we will need to get this process rolling asap. I spoke to Eric Bush the other week and he told me that the pay pal under the donations tab on our alumni website, www.sigmapifsu.com, is up and running and that will most likely be the most convenient way to donate. For those of you that would like to donate by mailing a check, you can make it out to the Seminole Alumni Foundation and mail it c/o Spencer Klein, 501 Blairstone Road, Apt 424, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. Any donated amount will be greatly appreciated and will help us reach our goal. For those of you willing and able to make a sizable donation and have it be tax deductible either for personal or business reasons, please contact me at 850-445-0826. While we cannot do that through S.A.F., we believe that you can make the donation through the educational foundation with nationals and earmark it for the Eta Epsilon Scholarship housing fund. That would be greatly appreciated and help us reach our goal that much faster. I will work with Eric to track our donation totals on the website as well as get pictures and info up about the house on the site. I will also be sending out weekly updates on our total raised and keep on everyone until we have reached our goal.

I distinctly remember when I rushed Sigma Pi back in the fall of 1990 (Zeta pledge class) and walking past a sketch and floor plans for the future house of Eta Epsilon in the downstairs hallway of the house at 447 W. College Ave. While we never realized that dream we have the opportunity to realize it now just three years after we recolonized the chapter and I look forward to everyone's help in making that a reality. Thank you for your time and support and if you have any questions, suggestions, etc.. please feel free to contact me either by cell, on facebook, or email- kleinmattay3@aol.com.

Sincerely,

Spencer M. Klein
President, Seminole Alumni Foundation