Funds on Deposit - 1,692,500 Days Left - 4
Greetings and Salutations,
You may notice that I've changed the heading at the top of this note from "Funds Raised" to "Funds on Deposit". The reason for that is we're really in the final days of this gig and it's reached a point where it doesn't matter what people have promised us -- the only thing that matters, for the sake of this project, is what is in the bank come Halloween. So, rather than including what people have said they're going to do, the number at the top of this note is only what is on deposit. Don't worry though, we're not out of time by any means. Even though today was the last day that I said would work for deposits, at the time I said I was allowing for a margin of error. We've still got four days. Wire transfers and cashiers checks will still be credited in time, even if they are wired (or handed off to me, for the checks), as late as the morning of the 31st.
Now that I've gotten the doom and gloom out of the way, here's the good news -- I'm almost sure we're gonna have the money in time.
I believe we're gonna get that building.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Building Update #6 - Very Close
Funds Raised - $1,622,500 Days Remaining - 4
Hello All,
Are you getting nervous? I am, sort of. We're very damn close to making it. Remember, I'm aiming for $1,900,000 to allow $100,000 for closing costs, build out and repairs. We can close the deal at $1.8 million. Which is $177,500 from where we are now.
I'm talking to a couple of people who might be able to do some bigger loans but I'm not going to hear from them 'till tomorrow. Well, 'til Friday, which is technically today. If I don't hear from them then, we might be able to come to an agreement on Saturday or Sunday but the funds can't move until Monday, when we have two days left. That'll make for a nervous weekend, eh?
But, here's the thing -- even if we don't pull it off this time, there'll be another building, and we've proven that we can raise over one and a half million dollars in less than three weeks.
One. And. A. Half. Million. Dollars.
That's a hell of an accomplishment and it'll serve us well if we have to do this again.
But I'm hoping we don't need to do this again. Honestly, I feel optimistic. We've done so much in the past week and we've got a whole weekend and two days ahead of us. Plus, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves. Something that both my former profession and 20 years in this business has taught me is to have a back-up plan . . . and a back-up for that . . . and a back-up for the second back-up. Right now, we're still working on the primary plan, which is the one with the best overall outcome. But it's not the only plan.
Anyway, enough about that. Last word is this -- if you're on the fence, now's the time to decide if you want to make a loan. And, if you've talked with me about a loan and haven't finished off the deal, get in touch and let's get finished -- I'm totally fine with, "We thought about it and we decided that it's not a good idea" but, not knowing where we stand is kind of hard.
Hello All,
Are you getting nervous? I am, sort of. We're very damn close to making it. Remember, I'm aiming for $1,900,000 to allow $100,000 for closing costs, build out and repairs. We can close the deal at $1.8 million. Which is $177,500 from where we are now.
I'm talking to a couple of people who might be able to do some bigger loans but I'm not going to hear from them 'till tomorrow. Well, 'til Friday, which is technically today. If I don't hear from them then, we might be able to come to an agreement on Saturday or Sunday but the funds can't move until Monday, when we have two days left. That'll make for a nervous weekend, eh?
But, here's the thing -- even if we don't pull it off this time, there'll be another building, and we've proven that we can raise over one and a half million dollars in less than three weeks.
One. And. A. Half. Million. Dollars.
That's a hell of an accomplishment and it'll serve us well if we have to do this again.
But I'm hoping we don't need to do this again. Honestly, I feel optimistic. We've done so much in the past week and we've got a whole weekend and two days ahead of us. Plus, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves. Something that both my former profession and 20 years in this business has taught me is to have a back-up plan . . . and a back-up for that . . . and a back-up for the second back-up. Right now, we're still working on the primary plan, which is the one with the best overall outcome. But it's not the only plan.
Anyway, enough about that. Last word is this -- if you're on the fence, now's the time to decide if you want to make a loan. And, if you've talked with me about a loan and haven't finished off the deal, get in touch and let's get finished -- I'm totally fine with, "We thought about it and we decided that it's not a good idea" but, not knowing where we stand is kind of hard.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Building Update #5
Funds Raised - $1,422,500 Days Remaining - 7
Hey Everyone,
OK. Much better rested than last night but I've got to run out of here fast because I'm meant to be at Churchill pretty much . . . now.
You're all wondering about the inspections. First off, they went well. We had general building and sewer inspections plus a roofer came in to give a bid for replacing the roof (no surprise -- the roof does need to be replaced, but we expected that).
The general building inspector was the best I've ever seen. His name is James Hicks and he is one of the partners at H.R. Wellington Construction. He's been a builder for years and he's qualified to do both general and pest inspections. He's also a medic and does volunteer search and rescue work, so we hit it off like a house-a-fire.
Bottom line is that it's a 1902 building with all that goes with it. A little bit of dry rot on the siding, old breaker panels (not hard to replace and not urgent), and so forth. The only two notable things were that the framing in the basement (that I mentioned to you all before) is, in fact, a bit funkier than I thought. It looks like the job of abating dry-rot that was done is the 1970s wasn't top-notch and probably needs some fixing. On the other hand, it didn't look like anything had moved much since that job was done, so this isn't one of those situation where a wall is tilting and going to keep tilting 'til it's fixed (or falls over). But, it is a big enough thing that I think we'll be talking with the seller about a price reduction to make up for it.
The other thing that he called out was that there are some cracks in the retaining walls in the backyard. There's a big tree that belongs to one of the neighbors that is right up against the wall and may be pushing on it.
Hey Everyone,
OK. Much better rested than last night but I've got to run out of here fast because I'm meant to be at Churchill pretty much . . . now.
You're all wondering about the inspections. First off, they went well. We had general building and sewer inspections plus a roofer came in to give a bid for replacing the roof (no surprise -- the roof does need to be replaced, but we expected that).
The general building inspector was the best I've ever seen. His name is James Hicks and he is one of the partners at H.R. Wellington Construction. He's been a builder for years and he's qualified to do both general and pest inspections. He's also a medic and does volunteer search and rescue work, so we hit it off like a house-a-fire.
Bottom line is that it's a 1902 building with all that goes with it. A little bit of dry rot on the siding, old breaker panels (not hard to replace and not urgent), and so forth. The only two notable things were that the framing in the basement (that I mentioned to you all before) is, in fact, a bit funkier than I thought. It looks like the job of abating dry-rot that was done is the 1970s wasn't top-notch and probably needs some fixing. On the other hand, it didn't look like anything had moved much since that job was done, so this isn't one of those situation where a wall is tilting and going to keep tilting 'til it's fixed (or falls over). But, it is a big enough thing that I think we'll be talking with the seller about a price reduction to make up for it.
The other thing that he called out was that there are some cracks in the retaining walls in the backyard. There's a big tree that belongs to one of the neighbors that is right up against the wall and may be pushing on it.
Building Update #4
Funds Raised - $1,292,500 Days Remaining - 8
Dear Sponsors,
I was planning to give you a detailed update about the building inspections today (yesterday, actually, since it's 1:58 am), but here it is already Tuesday morning, and I've been going since 7:30 am. I gotta say, I'm pretty beat. If I try to get into specifics about the inspections, I'm going to make word-salad. The short version is that the inspections went really well; better than I could have anticipated. I'm meeting my structural engineer and contractor to get some analysis and estimates on Wednesday and . . . . I'm going to tell you about the inspections tomorrow.
It was a good weekend for fund-raising as you can see. And that's it for building news 'til I get some sleep.
But, some event reminders before I go:
Dear Sponsors,
I was planning to give you a detailed update about the building inspections today (yesterday, actually, since it's 1:58 am), but here it is already Tuesday morning, and I've been going since 7:30 am. I gotta say, I'm pretty beat. If I try to get into specifics about the inspections, I'm going to make word-salad. The short version is that the inspections went really well; better than I could have anticipated. I'm meeting my structural engineer and contractor to get some analysis and estimates on Wednesday and . . . . I'm going to tell you about the inspections tomorrow.
It was a good weekend for fund-raising as you can see. And that's it for building news 'til I get some sleep.
But, some event reminders before I go:
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Building Update #3
Funds Raised - $825,000 Days Remaining - 11
Greetings,
I've got several bits of news, but I'll lead with the most important one.
Fund Raising
As you can see, the fund raising continues, albeit at a slower pace than at the start. The slow down makes sense, actually. At first, the loans were coming from people who were ready to go and, in some cases, they were people I had talked with in advance. Now, it's people who need more time to think about it and make arrangements. But, I'm not discouraged at all. $825,000 are only the loans that I'm sure of -- either the lender has committed to making the loan or the funds are already in the bank. There are another $400,000 in loans in which I'm still working out the final details for, but that I feel pretty confident about. Finally, there are some other lenders that I still need to reach out to personally. Bottom line, we're going to be close, but I'm not sure we're going to make by relying on only larger loans.
Considering that, I think it's time to open things up for smaller amounts. My initial reason for looking for larger loans was the desire to keep the number of people involved to a minimum so that my bookkeeping work would be more manageable. Not that it would be that big a job with 300 lenders but, I may have a few other things to work on in the coming months.
If you are in a position to offer a loan between $10,000 and $75,000, I'd love to talk with you about the details. The general terms of the loan are 3% interest paid annually and the loan to be paid back in nine years (but I could potentially pay it off earlier). The loans are secured by the building so they are pretty safe (barring a huge earthquake). There is room for changes if you would like them (e.g. interest rate can be as low as 2% or as high as 4%, interest can be paid quarterly, and the term can be shorter or longer) and the amount can be anything from $10,000 and up.
In terms of transferring the funds to me, there are a couple of different deadlines, depending on how the money is coming. Remember, if I don't have confirmed funds in the bank by October 31st, I'm going to have to cancel the deal. Since that is only 11 days away, the latest that a personal check is sure to work will be noon on Monday, the 23rd (unless the check is from Bank of America; I'll explain that in a second). Any later and the funds might not be confirmed by our bank in time for the 31st. Checks from Bank of America are an exception since that's where the company accounts are located and the confirmation is instant. As a result, BofA checks could be as late as Friday, the 27th. Electronic fund transfers should be sent by Thursday, the 26th, to be safe. Cashier's checks and wire transfers can be delivered to me (in the case of cashier's checks) or sent (in the case of wire transfers) by Friday, the 27th. All those dates are erring on the safe side but that's how I'd prefer to err.
As you can see, we need to move pretty quickly if this is going to work out. I am available to meet with you anytime and anyplace in San Francisco to discuss details or to pick up checks. I'm also available anytime by phone at 415 385-5968 to answer questions or merely discuss the loan. If there is any information that will assist your decision, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll also be around the shop all day tomorrow (Saturday) if you want to drop by and chat.
One last thing -- if the deal doesn't work out for any reason, I'll be returning the loan amounts with interest to date, within a week of October 31st, two weeks at the outside.
Greetings,
I've got several bits of news, but I'll lead with the most important one.
Fund Raising
As you can see, the fund raising continues, albeit at a slower pace than at the start. The slow down makes sense, actually. At first, the loans were coming from people who were ready to go and, in some cases, they were people I had talked with in advance. Now, it's people who need more time to think about it and make arrangements. But, I'm not discouraged at all. $825,000 are only the loans that I'm sure of -- either the lender has committed to making the loan or the funds are already in the bank. There are another $400,000 in loans in which I'm still working out the final details for, but that I feel pretty confident about. Finally, there are some other lenders that I still need to reach out to personally. Bottom line, we're going to be close, but I'm not sure we're going to make by relying on only larger loans.
Considering that, I think it's time to open things up for smaller amounts. My initial reason for looking for larger loans was the desire to keep the number of people involved to a minimum so that my bookkeeping work would be more manageable. Not that it would be that big a job with 300 lenders but, I may have a few other things to work on in the coming months.
If you are in a position to offer a loan between $10,000 and $75,000, I'd love to talk with you about the details. The general terms of the loan are 3% interest paid annually and the loan to be paid back in nine years (but I could potentially pay it off earlier). The loans are secured by the building so they are pretty safe (barring a huge earthquake). There is room for changes if you would like them (e.g. interest rate can be as low as 2% or as high as 4%, interest can be paid quarterly, and the term can be shorter or longer) and the amount can be anything from $10,000 and up.
In terms of transferring the funds to me, there are a couple of different deadlines, depending on how the money is coming. Remember, if I don't have confirmed funds in the bank by October 31st, I'm going to have to cancel the deal. Since that is only 11 days away, the latest that a personal check is sure to work will be noon on Monday, the 23rd (unless the check is from Bank of America; I'll explain that in a second). Any later and the funds might not be confirmed by our bank in time for the 31st. Checks from Bank of America are an exception since that's where the company accounts are located and the confirmation is instant. As a result, BofA checks could be as late as Friday, the 27th. Electronic fund transfers should be sent by Thursday, the 26th, to be safe. Cashier's checks and wire transfers can be delivered to me (in the case of cashier's checks) or sent (in the case of wire transfers) by Friday, the 27th. All those dates are erring on the safe side but that's how I'd prefer to err.
As you can see, we need to move pretty quickly if this is going to work out. I am available to meet with you anytime and anyplace in San Francisco to discuss details or to pick up checks. I'm also available anytime by phone at 415 385-5968 to answer questions or merely discuss the loan. If there is any information that will assist your decision, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll also be around the shop all day tomorrow (Saturday) if you want to drop by and chat.
One last thing -- if the deal doesn't work out for any reason, I'll be returning the loan amounts with interest to date, within a week of October 31st, two weeks at the outside.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Building Update #2
Funds Raised - $650,000 Days Remaining - 13
Hey Folks,
On Monday I said that I'd go into the whole inspections and estimates part of the process later because it was a long post. That follows but, if you're not interested in all those details, you can skip the end of this note. But I do have some other stuff that might interest you.
First off, we're in the news again. Both Hoodline and Mission Local posted pieces about what we're doing:
Mission Local - https://missionlocal.org/2017/10/saved-by-sponsorships-borderlands-books-now-aims-to-buy-a-building/
Hoodline - http://hoodline.com/2017/10/borderlands-books-moves-to-buy-recycled-records-building
Secondly, with Jeremy's invaluable help, I've put up a section on our website about this project. There are some documents up there that give more details about the building. There's also a current picture. If you looked at the place on Google street view it was a uniform (and ugly) gray color. It's been painted since and the current picture is much more appealing. Go to https://borderlands-books.com/building/ It's password protected -- if you want access, please drop me a line. I'll be adding anything of interest, including some more pictures, up there as I get it.
Now, how about a deep dive into building inspections?
Hey Folks,
On Monday I said that I'd go into the whole inspections and estimates part of the process later because it was a long post. That follows but, if you're not interested in all those details, you can skip the end of this note. But I do have some other stuff that might interest you.
First off, we're in the news again. Both Hoodline and Mission Local posted pieces about what we're doing:
Mission Local - https://missionlocal.org/2017/10/saved-by-sponsorships-borderlands-books-now-aims-to-buy-a-building/
Hoodline - http://hoodline.com/2017/10/borderlands-books-moves-to-buy-recycled-records-building
Secondly, with Jeremy's invaluable help, I've put up a section on our website about this project. There are some documents up there that give more details about the building. There's also a current picture. If you looked at the place on Google street view it was a uniform (and ugly) gray color. It's been painted since and the current picture is much more appealing. Go to https://borderlands-books.com/building/ It's password protected -- if you want access, please drop me a line. I'll be adding anything of interest, including some more pictures, up there as I get it.
Now, how about a deep dive into building inspections?
Building Update #1
Funds Raised - $500,000 Days Remaining - 15
Hi All,
I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was, as you might expect, pretty busy. We've been selling books off-site all week at the various Litquake events around town, which . . . was some work. We did 12 off-site events in 6 days. On Friday we had three different events that we were at -- two of them at the same time. And, on Wednesday, there were two simultaneous events at the same time as the Internet Archive anniversary party. That would have been fine except Jude and I were both scheduled to work at the party. So, Z'ev sold books at one event and Maddy sold them at the other while Jude and I worked the party. I'm very glad that all the management folks at Borderlands are cross-trained to work in either the bookstore or the cafe.
But that was all just a warm-up for Saturday when we hosted two events as part of the Lit Crawl, one in the bookstore and one right afterwards in the cafe, each with four authors participating. If that wasn't enough, Z'ev and I were so busy scheduling around all the events last week, we forgot to schedule extra staff at the cafe that evening. Z'ev and Isabel did an impressive job of holding down the fort in the cafe, in spite of lines that went to the door at times.
Despite all the excitement, I managed to get a fair amount of work done on the building purchase. As of now, our funding stands at $400,000 with another $100,000 in contingent funds. I've also started several conversations that may lead to additional loans (one of them well over $100,000). I'm not exactly relaxed but things do seem to be going in a positive way.
Now seems like a good time to give an overview of what we need to get done in the next 15 days. The job falls into three parts; getting financing, setting up the legal structure, and getting inspections and estimates. The discussion about inspection and estimates is long so I'm going to save that for my next update.
Hi All,
I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was, as you might expect, pretty busy. We've been selling books off-site all week at the various Litquake events around town, which . . . was some work. We did 12 off-site events in 6 days. On Friday we had three different events that we were at -- two of them at the same time. And, on Wednesday, there were two simultaneous events at the same time as the Internet Archive anniversary party. That would have been fine except Jude and I were both scheduled to work at the party. So, Z'ev sold books at one event and Maddy sold them at the other while Jude and I worked the party. I'm very glad that all the management folks at Borderlands are cross-trained to work in either the bookstore or the cafe.
But that was all just a warm-up for Saturday when we hosted two events as part of the Lit Crawl, one in the bookstore and one right afterwards in the cafe, each with four authors participating. If that wasn't enough, Z'ev and I were so busy scheduling around all the events last week, we forgot to schedule extra staff at the cafe that evening. Z'ev and Isabel did an impressive job of holding down the fort in the cafe, in spite of lines that went to the door at times.
Despite all the excitement, I managed to get a fair amount of work done on the building purchase. As of now, our funding stands at $400,000 with another $100,000 in contingent funds. I've also started several conversations that may lead to additional loans (one of them well over $100,000). I'm not exactly relaxed but things do seem to be going in a positive way.
Now seems like a good time to give an overview of what we need to get done in the next 15 days. The job falls into three parts; getting financing, setting up the legal structure, and getting inspections and estimates. The discussion about inspection and estimates is long so I'm going to save that for my next update.
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