New Year, New Homes

Well the end of 2015 saw an exciting new development for the MAJ - we bought a new property! A house with a one bedroom flat downstairs and a two bedroom flat upstairs near the Spurs ground in Tottenham... in fact as I write this I can hear the singing cheering Spurs fans which I am guessing means they won.

We completed in late November 2015 and three of us moved in by mid December, and as it was a real fixer-upper the place was a bit of a building site. Downstairs had no bathroom and upstairs had no kitchen (or kitchen floor) so for about two and a half weeks the day would start early with drilling, plastering, walls going up, cabinets being hung, great big holes being made for great big pipes and one co-op member up on the roof making it sound so that the constant rain wouldn't drip on our heads as we slept.

The downstairs kitchen and bathroom needed extensive work

What a palaver! But all the main work that was needed to make it habitable was done by Christmas and now those of us who live here are really loving the feeling of a secure roof over our heads for the first time. Oh, and having moved out of a completely unmodernised building, the joys of hot showers and central heating just can't be appreciated enough.

The upstairs kitchen didn't even have a floor!

This has been a major achievement for MAJ - we've been trying to get the rest of our members safely housed for years and it feels great to have three more of us under another MAJ owned roof. Thank you so much to all of those who have helped us with loanstock, gifts, advice and moral and practical support, without you this could not have happened and we are incredibly grateful. But we can't rest on our laurels as we still have one member in a perilously vulnerable housing situation, plus more work needs to be done on the new house (some walls and doors still need putting in, and access to the garden for the top floor flat). More about that soon.

Some neighbours

Investing in Mary Ann Johnson Housing Co-op

Appeal for Loanstock and Donations – Ends 31 August 2016
Mary Ann Johnson Housing Co-operative needs money to grow – your donations or loans can support a radical, sustainable community-based project!

You can donate to us or apply for Loanstock by downloading our Donations and Loanstock Application Form which has all the information you need to apply or donate.

 

Mary Ann Johnson housing co-op currently owns two properties in Tottenham, home to five of our members as well as a thriving office which is used by local community groups. Our aim now is to buy another property to provide secure housing for our last insecurely housed member. To make this happen, we need to raise about £50,000 in the form of loanstock investments or donations. We are therefore appealing to all those able to contribute towards sustainable housing, the co-operative ethos and a better society, to help our radical project to grow!

Establishing affordable co-operative housing in London poses unique challenges due to inflated property prices. However, our co-op members have long-standing connections to this area of north London, and a long history of involvement in residents’ groups, and community projects and campaigns. We have made a promising start with our first house and want to extend this further to show that the principles of a better society, such as tenants having control over their housing, can be established even in the most challenging conditions.

Donations to our project would be gratefully received and should be regarded as a socially useful investment. Alternatively, we are seeking loanstock, the principal source of funding for many small co-operatives. This is a form of fixed-term loan made by groups and individuals to the co-operative. Rather than being paid back in instalments, the total amount borrowed will be repaid at the end of the agreed term.
We welcome investments of any size and would prefer loans with fixed terms ranging between 5 and 20 years. With interest rates being what they are at the moment, we would normally offer 0% interest, but we are happy to negotiate on an individual basis with each potential investor. Any investment made with us will be managed through a contract. Updates about our project and activities will be available on request (and on our website!).

We are a long-established group, who have had to overcome many obstacles to get this far, and have now gained valuable experience in buying, converting and managing properties. We are confident that our determination and resilience as a group, as well as the support we get from our membership of Radical Routes, a national network of co-ops working for social change, will enable us to realise our dreams – but your generosity is needed to make this possible!
Investing in Mary Johnson Housing Co-op is an investment in social change through sustainable housing, community-based politics and the possibility of a better future.

 

If you would like to make a donation or apply for Loanstock, you can download our Donations and Loanstock Application Form which has all the information you need to apply or donate to us directly. Thank You!!!

If you want to know more about the co-operative and discuss in more detail how to invest with us, fill in our contact form here (link opens on a new page)

Zombie Disco is GO!!!

  
  It's nearly Hallowe'en and time for all you deadbeats to get re-animated... on the dancefloor! We'll have live music from Loathesome Ways, The Wailing Banshees and The Kemistry to make your flesh creep, and DJs playing tunes you'll be dying to dance to: from the Slits to the Supremes, from Manic Street Preachers to Michael Jackson. You'll be thrilled you came. From 8pm til 3am. Entry is £5 waged / £3 concessions. All proceeds will go to Haringey Solidarity Group and Mary Ann Johnson Housing Co-operative.

Zombie Disco Benefit Night

Coming soon...  the Zombie Disco MAJ benefit night. You can always support MAJ by donating or investing, but how about doing it by watching live bands, dressing up as a zombie, dancing to crypt kickin' tunes and winning prizes for doing it? Save the date, Friday 25th October 8pm 'til 3 am at The Silver Bullet Bar, 5 Station Place, Finsbury Park (30 seconds from Finsbury Park Tube Station). Tickets on the door £5 waged £3.00 unwaged/low waged. It's a no-brainer! 

Facebook Event:- Zombie Disco

Co-operatives Fortnight - How to set up a housing co-op

How To Set Up a Housing Co-op is an afternoon of workshops being held in
central London during Co-operatives Fortnight.

If you're intending to set up a housing co-op, or involved with a group that
is doing so, then this event will be for you. It aims to cover in
detail the issues you will face in incorporating, raising finance, finding
and purchasing a building - and keeping your group together along the way.

Workshops are facilitated by members of existing housing co-ops. The event is supported by Housing Justice and Radical Routes.
More information about the event and how to register is on the website -
http://www.housingcoops.org.uk

MAJ office is open and in use!

The Chester Road loft conversion has been completed, and the Mary Ann Johnson local office for local people* is up and running and already in use! Once the plastering got done all that was required was a lick of paint, a tidy up, and the office furniture moved in. There have already been Haringey Solidarity Group meetings in the small but beautifully formed setting, and there will no doubt be more requests from local groups to follow.

A little basic to start with, but it will soon become more lived in/disorganised

We can't stop marvelling at the plush smartness of the lovely new carpet

We even have a colour photocopier!

And let's have a look at those windows... they make the space lovely and bright.

It's a fantastic resource and a great space to do a bit of work in. We are absolutely chuffed to bits.



*We don't really call it that

Just needs plaster, a tidy and some decorating before the office can move in

Here are some more pics of our work in progress – the conversion of the attic of our house into a loft. It will be used as an office for MAJ, Haringey Solidarity Group (which we're all in) and possibly other local activists groups too. We've been really busy working on that all summer and it is now getting near completion. Tony has especially been putting a lot of time and effort into this, so big up to him. We've got the staircase installed, the electrics done, the dormer window and velux fitted in, the insulation and plasterboard done, and we're finishing putting in the floorboards. With all that, we're in no doubt that our next blog will proudly announce the grand opening of our office! Before we get there though, we still have a lot of plastering to do, and a radiator to install. Oh, and hope that Building Regs wont be the pain in the ass they can sometimes be and will just okay all the works... Then, we'll need to tackle all the decoration bits (painting, carpet, etc...) and think about furnishing the room. Once that's all done, we can have an office warming party and trash the place!

Look at those lovely windows! Much better than in our last post, eh?...

...but you still have to watch your step!

In other news, its been nearly a year since we've started managing the property we don't own but that houses a few of us. And it's been going fairly well. Lately we got gas and electricity checks done and a few other bits and bobs that improved the life of the co-op members who live there. The contract is up for renewal and we're optimistic we can carry on acting as a managing agency, in the hope of a better outcome for the future.

Finally, and because we need to house everyone in the co-op securely, we're in the process of opening a new bank account dedicated to raising money for a new property. We made an estimation of how much we need to raise and the bank account will allow us to receive donations or loans. No doubt that once we've published an appeal on our shiny new website, all potential donors will contact us begging to give money. They'd better anyway as we'll need quite a lot to top up our meagre savings. But nothing is impossible for Mary Ann Johnson housing co-op! That's the spirit anyway...