About the Organisation
Hope into Action is a national charity housing and supporting those who have been affected by homelessness. We work in 35 locations outside London from Portsmouth to Northumberland and across to Belfast. 114 homes are open utilising over £26m of mostly private investment capital. Today we house 309 tenants – 100 of whom are single males. 44 are single women and 165 are in families with children.
As well as the resource of a house, we believe people need homes in a community where they can build positive relationships to begin to restore their identity, dignity and trust.
We provide support staff who emphasise help which is mutual, relational and develops people’s strengths. Uniquely, we combine this professional support with the social capital of local churches, a team of volunteers who we train. The engagement of these Christian volunteers enables our paid staff to focus on more specialised areas of support work.
We welcome people of all faiths and none – those who have been rough sleeping, sofa surfers, those fleeing domestic violence, trafficking, leaving the sex trade, ex-prisoners, refugees and people seeking to overcome addictions. HiA’s unique model has won awards from the Centre for Social Justice, The Guardian, and Homeless Link.
Request details:
Hope Into Action’s model involves investor(s) buying houses and refurbishing them in line with their specification and support. They then lease them back for 5 years for a maximum investment return of 2%. At any point in time they have between 15 and 30 new houses “in progress”.
One of the most time consuming and frustrating parts of the process for their investors is the purchasing (including money laundering requirements) and Declaration of Trust (where there are multiple investors). They have lost investors during this process because of legal delays and inefficiencies.
Hope Into Action would be very grateful for pro bono services from a responsive conveyancing solicitor who is able to efficiently handle the following:
- Quick turnaround on searches and report on title
- Anti Money Laundering requirements with as little amount of hassle as possible
19% of the charity’s houses are owned by multiple investors, and this percentage is looking like it will increase so an understanding of the Declaration of Trust is important. Therefore, they also need the following legal services:
- Creation of Declaration of Trusts for multi-investor-owned houses (with related guidance)
- Guidance on changes to the ownership during or at the end of the 5 year lease term.
Timeline
ASAP