View source for NESFA Lunar Realty Trust

{{DISPLAYTITLE:NESFA Lunar Realty Trust #1}}

When [[NESFA]] decided to purchase a [[clubhouse]] (see [[Saga of the NESFA Clubhouse]]), it felt that it had enough income to pay for it, but not enough cash -- it needed a mortgage. But banks are not used to loaning money to [[fannish]] [[clubs]] (it probably could have been done, but it would have been very hard).  Instead, NESFA decided to borrow money from its members and, to keep it formal and above-board, set up the NESFA Lunar Realty Trust #1 (as in Encyclopedia Galactica Foundation #1).

The NLRT was a trust organized under Massachusetts law (and largely set up by [[Don Eastlake]]) which collected around $60,000 towards the purchase price. The NLRT sold bonds worth $100 each and paid interest based on the prime rate. Most of the money was raised locally, but [[S.C.I.F.I.]], the organization which had just run the huge and financially quite successful [[LAcon II]], purchased $20,000 worth of NLRT bonds. (It's noteworthy that they paid for it with 100 checks for $137 — [[SCIFI and 1.37|it's a long story]] — plus one more check for $6300.) The NLRT bonds were paid off completely over the next two and a half years.

{{group}}
[[Category:US]]

[[Category:obscure_fact]]