Zoning

If your church is buying land, considering owning and running a daycare, or if you are going to lease to a  school you will need to know what the zoning regulations are in your city.  Zoning is another key element of the process of developing property.  Each and every city is different and may or may not require special zoning for churches.  It is imperative that you understand the current zoning, the acceptable uses and the process to get a Special Use or Conditional Use Permit approved if necessary.  I have seen churches have to take legal action after buying a property to get a city to approve their zoning request.  It is best to go through this task prior to purchasing the land to save both time and money.

If you are considering purchasing property or adding a tenant call the Church Real Estate Professionals at Service Realty at 866-424-2001 or email me at johnm@servicerealty.com.

Count the Cost - Debt

Debt - this may be the topic of the year.  Most people do not want to talk about it.  Many look at it as a fact of life, something that is as common as death and taxes.  However for the Christian we know that debt is something to avoid.  Prov 22:7b says the borrower is the slave of the lender.  Families, businesses and churches do go into debt to buy homes, cars, buildings and other tings to run their business.  Churches drive ministries and programs to accomplish their mission and vision.  Debt is a part of Christian's lives and responsible planning can tolerate some debt.  However, anyone that is in debt MUST count the cost.

If an individual or a church decides to take on debt, the responsible choice is to ensure you have a plan to completely pay off that debt.  Many lenders will loan a church 3 times their annual budget.  This DOES NOT mean every church can afford that amount of debt.  Each church as well as individuals has a debt tolerance that they know they can handle.  I know of many churches that have determined debt will not be a part of their building process, others are willing to be aggressive and borrow more than 3 times heir annual budget through a bond program.  The bottom line is to avoid the "if we build it they will come" strategy and count the cost to know exactly how debt will affect your ministry.

Contact me today for a free consultation regarding your current debt situation.  johnm@thechurchconsultants.com

What to know before buying Land

Time after time I have seen a sign go up on a piece of land that says "Future Home of XYZ Church"  I have seen one property in particular that has had that sign for 2 different churches over the last 7 years and today it sits as a vacant piece of land.  One of those churches no longer exists and the other bought a different piece of land and built elsewhere.  The question is what happened with the property and why did neither church build on it?

As any church considers a site to build there are several key components to identifying a good site for development.  It is not enough to find a nice property in a good location at a cheap price.  Due diligence and a timely process must take place prior to making a commitment to buy a property.  Cheap is not always good and good is not always cheap.  Below are just a few of the questions to ask prior to buying land.

1. Know what the church can afford to buy?
2. Identify how much land is needed?
3. Know what it will cost to build?
4. What is the zoning in place on the site and are special zoning approvals needed?
5. Hire a Church Real Estate Professional to help to avoid the pitfalls that so many fall into.
6. Interview architects and builders and define a clear budget for them to follow?
7. Get a clear understanding on who has control of the project?

These are just a few of the topics to consider before you buy land.  There are additional due diligence items to consider and get solid answers to before you commit to buy.  Often times, church committees or Realtors in the church think they have covered these items, yet time and again they fall into a trap because they did not sufficiently count the cost.  I have seen many churches buy a property based on advice from a builder that said he could deliver a product with in a specific budget only to determine that the type of structure did not meet the local building codes for a church.

The example in the opening paragraph came out of a situation where the site was long and skinny and the site could not get 2 points of access.  The city would require two points of access as well as a deceleration lane across the adjoining property.  The property owner of that site would not grant an easement or cross access rendering the church site not ready to be developed.

If you or your church is planning to pursue land please call me for a free consultation to get started on the right foot.  We will begin the process to count the cost and begin the due diligence to avoid the pitfalls other churches have fallen into.  If you have specific questions please comment here or email me at johnpmuzyka@gmail.com.