A colleague of mine recently mused that he had lent way more money to “friends” than to family members. I’d never really thought about that, but quickly tallied what I could remember of the past 20 or so years of handouts to buddies and, yes, I actually felt a full spinal shiver. There was a Time magazine article on the topic last year that stated, “Lending money to family and friends is a timeworn tradition–one that probably has worn out more relationships than it has helped.” There is (or rather, was) a unique company called Circle Lending formed specifically to help with these types of sticky-wickets. However, it appears to have been bought by Sir Richard and rebirthed as Virgin Money.
From their website, www.virginmoneyus.com, “Loans and mortgages between family and friends reflect an age-old impulse to lend a helping hand. They’re typically used for big life events: to buy a home, to start a business, to finance an education. But mixing money and relationships can be tricky. That’s where we come in.” Sounds like help is on the way! They go on to say that their goal is to make lending between family and friends (for purposes entrepreneurial and otherwise) “safe and easy.” Anyway, check it out if you need it. Unless you can’t read this blog because you loaned your best bud your PC. (Good luck.)
Posted by: Colin Mangham