yup. Gonna need you to buy that and start a build thread....
yup. Gonna need you to buy that and start a build thread....
In reply to The_Jed :
Interesting... the price includes both lots?
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
From a different listing for the same property:
"Limited on-street parking is available at the church, but additional parking is available in the church-owned parking lot, just West of the church."
Wow. That looks pretty good!
It appears to have recent architectural shingles on it, and they appear to be in good shape.
Is this an undesirable part of town? Why is it sitting?
It looks identical to my grandparent's church. Identical. 
I'm not 100% sure the parking lot goes with it at that price, I assumed they'd want more with that thrown in.
This is actually in a decent part of town, the kids and I ride our bikes through there all the time.
I just noticed the listing agent is Jed Rhoades. That's not me, though I wish I had his job and bank account.
I contacted the listing agency a couple of days ago about setting up a showing and haven't heard back. I would REALLY like to get inside there and see what exactly needs to be done.
Those pews are worth $5k all day long.
67LS1 said:Those pews are worth $5k all day long.
That's what I was thinking. That room is worth $75k in wood alone!
In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :
You must buy wood made of gold.
SV reX said:Is this an undesirable part of town? Why is it sitting?
My guess, and I am far from any kind of expert here, is that the location of the town more than anything is making it sit. It is a relatively small town (14k people, which I'm honestly shocked that it is that big) and 30 minutes from Pekin (which is pretty depressed) and 45 minutes from Peoria (which is less depressed but not thriving).
If it was 10 miles farther east it would be a different story. Additionally, out of the 3 people other than Jed that I know who are currently looking to buy in that general area, they all want land and are looking to move out of town.
Combine the location with what it could be used for right now, zoned residential, and the list of interested buyers gets pretty small. The perfect storm for Jed to grab it!
I looked at pics on Google maps, street view. The place is huge and it seems to me that the back half is intended to be a Pastor's residence?
The parking lot is not attached. Rather, it is separate lot located a few houses away. The pavement is probably rough which requires other buyers to spend cubic dollars to improve.
You might be able to sell the parking lot as a buildable lot but who's really building in this old neighborhood? With the lot sold, the church with no parking will be hard to resell. Sure you could convert to apts but apts with no parking is a problem. Or, apts with parking down the street, and not visible from your apt is less than desirable too.
It's a cool place. I suspect that parking is a challenge for most buyers.
Everything requires money but... I suggest to live in the house, rear portion and then do a triple net business lease of the church portion to a Wedding Chapel business. With the triple net lease, the repave is paid by the renter.
John Welsh said:The place is huge and it seems to me that the back half is intended to be a Pastor's residence?
This is what I keep thinking. I cannot figure out the layout exactly, but I'm suspect that it only has 1 toilet. It appears to be a very poor listing.
mtn said:It appears to be a very poor listing.
I think some people wonder why realtors get paid, and some (likely in this case) have no idea and just get whoever because they know they need someone. Yes I know it is a low priced property, but even a few more pictures from a decent iPhone would show the place better. Less than an hour of work here could transform the listing.
In reply to AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) :
You could go in with an iPhone, start taking video as soon as you walk in the front door. Walk through the entire building. It would take... 5 minutes? Maybe 10, if you're super detailed? But instead we're left guessing.
Okay, I was finally able to check out the church in person. My daughter and I did a walk through with the realtor.
I'm going to give it a go. The biggest hurdles will be $taxes$ and utilities.
I contacted the bank to have them look into the ins and outs of the loan process. I'm pre-qualified for a home loan but, I don't know if this will be different.
It needs some work but, it looks do-able.
In reply to The_Jed :
Exciting!
I'm not so sure about the idea of becoming ordained, but the non-profit idea may have merit...
That place seems like it is about 3X as big as you need. Maybe not a church, but what about a non-profit community activity center, or maker space, or something? You could use 2/3 of it for public rental space, and set yourself up as the on site live-in manager. Solicit donations, pay yourself a salary, and save on taxes as a non-profit!
Elsewhere on the board there is discussion that bands need places to practice. Churches are usually pretty good musically. Could this be a side business, offering?
I like the idea of creating some sort of non-profit but, I have no idea what sort.
The acoustics had been noted by my very musically talented daughter.
I'm going to contact ameren tomorrow to see if I can get a 12-month average for the utilities and I'm going to call and/or see the assessor to get an idea of the tax situation.
In reply to The_Jed :
I am the his daughter, by the way.
Hi Lily!
The_Jed said:I like the idea of creating some sort of non-profit but, I have no idea what sort.
I think it would be hard to justify a non-profit if it's just a rental space. It would need to house some kind of public service.
Maker Space, activity center, food kitchen, church, etc.
I'm just happy The_Jed has chosen to be the minister and caretaker of the church of speed. I look forward to attending the occasional Sunday Cars and Coffee where congregants get together on this sacred property and affirm its non-profit tax exempt status.
Also I understand there will be cake and pie.
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