<p>First off I’d like to clarify a few things for those who don’t know. A House Corporation owns and operates the physical houses. It is separate from an Advisory Board which advises the chapter with its operations. Both are comprised of volunteer alums. Finally, Greek Resources is a local accounting firm which has been hired by the majority of the House Corps and chapters on campus to handle their finances (member billing, collections, bill payments, etc.) </p>
<p>As previously said, the University does not actually build new houses. Architects, contractors, etc. are hired and paid for by each House Corp. However, the Univ allows the GLO’s to use their bidding process. In order for a company to participate in the UA bidding process, it must meet certain qualifications. In addition, a GLO can hire a Univ project manager to oversee the building process.</p>
<p>It is not mandatory to go through the Univ, but there are big plusses in doing so. You can be confident that you are getting the best price and hiring qualified contractors/builders who will stand behind their work. That’s of course assuming that they want to continue getting business at the Univ. ;)</p>
<p>FYI, this is fairly new (within the last few years) and so is the Univ helping with loans. Before that it was pretty much up to each GLO’s House Corp and/or it’s Nationals to finance and build.</p>