Are there any real estate gurus in here?

In reply to nocones :

That would be perfect! We could park all of the cars on that lot to the west of the church, cram ourselves full of caffeine and sugar, then drive at perfectly reasonable and legal speeds. 



:)

Random thought:

I believe that the upstairs area may be big enough for a boxing ring...maybe. The actual worship area is completely separate from the living space. 


I could be Mickey! 


1. Start a small boxing club/gym as a 501c3 to help with property taxes.


2. Charge people a tiny fee to train there to help with utilities and so I can pay myself a meager salary as the manager.


3....Profit?
 

I briefly joked about becoming an ordained Dudeist and having showings of The Big Lebowski on a huge projector every other Sunday but, that doesn't sit quite right with me. If I had intense, fiery faith in something I'd become ordained and share the word but, I don't. I'm a lot closer to being a Nihilist belief-wise than a devout follower of any faith. That could change, though, who knows?

Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:

67LS1 said:

Those pews are worth $5k all day long. 

That's what I was thinking.  That room is worth $75k in wood alone!

I looked into pew prices briefly and, at least from what I've found during my admittedly limited research, the prices are all over the place. 

In reply to The_Jed :

The only value to the pews is likely to be resale to one-at-a-time individuals (at reasonably low FB Marketplace style numbers). Or cutting them up for wood (probably not good, because they are likely veneers)

Churches won't want them, because they buy new (sayeth the holy decorating committee).  Unless it is a very poor church, and they don't pay much (because they can't).

I throw away $200,000 or more in furniture annually. That's just how businesses are.

I occasionally see pews at the local antique fare near me. Pews that length usually go for $4-500. So I'm guessing they'd sell pretty quick at like $2-250 each. But yeah, probably one at a time.

The_Jed said:

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.

I called and got nowhere with Ameren and left a message with the assessor.

The idea of a boxing gym is really growing on me.

 I could relive the glory days of Knuckles down in Madison, IL.

In reply to 67LS1 :

Sounds about right.

There are 80 separate listings on EBay right now for church pews.  Starting at $70.  The vintage ones (not these) are more expensive.  Most of those listings have 20 or more to sell.

Gonna have to find a lot of buyers...

The_Jed said:

The_Jed said:

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.

I called and got nowhere with Ameren and left a message with the assessor.

It's probably not meaningful anyway.

The AC or heat may have only been on in that building 1 day a week, and when it was it may have had 100 people in the building.  Your usage is going to be totally different.

On Google maps street view I see two electric meters under the side stairs. 

Two meters? Two accounts?

One for pastor's house section and one for church portion? 

Id also review how the HVAC is zoned. Can you keep some at a pleasant temp while keeping unused portions at less pleasant temps thereby reducing your HVAC expenses?

In reply to John Welsh :

Thanks, that's definitely worth looking into. These are all things that I am less than well-versed in.

Update:


I was finally able to speak to a human and, after much chewing of the fat, I was told I might need a "construction loan" and that she would need to touch base with her manager and get back to me. She also said a construction loan would require an appraisal which would require a purchase agreement. 

I had to clarify in Machinery Repairman speak so I said, "So that means I make an offer, it is accepted and then, after the offer is accepted, the property is appraised in order to get the construction loan so that I can buy the property?".


She replied with a simple, "Yes.".


Seems a bit backward to me but, I don't know a whole lot about this world.



All of the Jackasses on youtube make it look so easy. LOL 

"We bought this old church for two blueberries and a half-eaten snickers bar... and absolutely none of the money we inherited from our parents."

Just make the offer subject to securing financing. It doesn't seem like you have a lot of competing offers so it shouldn't be a problem for the sellers.

Sounds about right.

Most sales contracts/offers have contingencies, financing, appraisal, etc. I agree to buy and you agree to sell for $x contingent that I get funding and it appraises for the sales price or better, possibly contingent on no major issues found in home inspection or pest inspection.  

I spoke to another human today and they said I could NOT have any sort of business in the upper section, regardless of whether or not it is completely separated from the living area, which it is. And I would need to get quotes from contractors to do the work since, according to her, if I get the only loan they're willing to give me (construction loan) I have to hire contractors, I can't just slap a shower in one of the lower-level bathrooms myself.


It looks like the red tape is piling up and I'm not going to be able to make the most of a bad situation. So, yet another thread of mine squeaks to a halt like a loud, forceful fart that is just a little bit too warm.


If collecting L's was a competitive event I might actually be able to get a W for once.

In reply to The_Jed :

Sorry to hear that.  I know you were excited about the prospects.

For better or worse (often worse), laws and institutions just don't deal very well with anything outside the norm.

In reply to The_Jed :

I'm sorry for the frustration. I'd dig a little deeper...

What is the reason for "no business"?  Zoning?  Fire separation of dissimilar spaces?  Usage?  Insurance?  Loan limitations?  All of these could be solved. 
 

The contractor limitation is easy to get around. Get quotes, hire who you want (yourself). I've seen it many, many times. 
 

Don't give up. The game is still afoot.

In reply to The_Jed :

It sounds like you are talking with a representative at the lender.

She's telling you you can't have a business because you are discussing residential mortgages on primary residences. They don't want commercial- different risks.

Ok, so it's your residence. Get the loan and proceed. After you own it the lender won't tell you how to use it (if you pay your bills).  
 

If you rent it as an AirBnB, it's still residential.  Make sure you buy the insurance you will need for whatever you actually use it for.

I haven't worked in IL, but I am not aware of laws in any state that prohibit a homeowner from doing work on their own primary residence (unless it's a mobile home).  You get the permit, do the work, and get the inspections. Done.
 

The lender is concerned with their collateral. Get some quotes from contractors that would satisfy the lender that the property will be appropriate collateral for the loan they are writing (residential primary residence).

After the construction loan has been converted to a permanent loan, the lender is mostly out of the picture. 

You could probably find some private money to get you through the remodel, then go to a bank for long term financing. I don't know what hard money interest runs in your area but I have a contact that gives me 8% and 2 points for a six month loan. You pay interest only each month and you can do the remodel yourself.

Search for hard money or private money on CL or maybe even FB. A mortgage broker usually has a few people they can call too, get away from the banks directly they don't like weird deals.