A Checklist For Church Loan Requests: Documentation You Need

Use this checklist below as a guide to help gather and organize the documentation needed for your church loan request. CURRENT YEAR TO DATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YTD Income and Expense Statement (also referred to as a P&L) Budget Comparison (projected budget as compared to actuals) Balance Sheet Bank Statements and/or Quarterly Statements that verify cash…

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A Temporary Church Space Could Be The Permanent Solution

Before you commit to lease or purchase a church facility, you must get clarity on who you are and what your ministry is called to do. Doing the groundwork to define your mission, vision, and values is an essential first step before pursuing real estate. The next step is to understand your capacity. Capacity is…

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Top 10 Things to Know Before You Lease a Church Building

We often get calls from churches asking for lease space. Most of the time, churches don’t know how much space they need or how much spaces cost in the marketplace. There is also a great deal of information regarding building codes, finish-out costs, and securing permits that are unknown to those who call. Before you…

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Top 10 Things to Know When Buying a Church Property

In a previous article, we discussed the Top 10 Things to Know When Finding a Facility for your Church Plant. That post addressed the things you need to know when leasing a space for a church plant. After growing in a lease space for a season, many churches look for a permanent home that they…

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WE are the Church: Thoughts on Reopening Churches

The Church is not a building.  This is not breaking news or new information, but it is more real in the Spring of 2020 than ever in recent history. Around the world, the Church is growing in places where there is not a physical building. In our western culture, we are viewed as a “real”…

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Relocating a Church? Avoid These 4 Common Mistakes

As churches start to grow, they start evaluating their long-term facility needs. This need is most often felt in the children’s ministry. We hear statements like, “We have kids everywhere on Sundays. We keep trying to figure out what to do with them.” This often leads to discussions and evaluations of relocation or expansion. These congregations realize that facilities…

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Multisite Churches in North Texas: A Strategy or A Solution?

Churches of all shapes and sizes are searching for locations to maximize the impact of their ministry. From the downtowns of our largest cities to the suburbs, church plants occupy schools, hotels, theaters, and shopping centers. Every church needs facilities that meet the needs of their ministry in order to share the Gospel effectively. Whether…

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Downsizing (or Upsizing) a Church? Tips for Finding the Right Space

Most church plants and multisite campuses launch in a temporary space. In the beginning, they simply do not have the resources or loan capacity to buy a 50,000 square foot building. And a temporary space can be a smart strategy for the initial season of ministry. As a church plant grows, they begin to offer…

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Church Real Estate Loan Evaluations: It’s Not Just About The Numbers

The church real estate loan evaluation process goes deeper than evaluating your financial information. Believe it or not, lenders are also evaluating you — the person or church asking them for money. They are looking to make sure you have a firm grasp of what’s going on within your organization and that your organizational needs…

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Church Loans: Comparing Bank Financing to Bond Financing

Banks tend to be the “go-to” option for church loans and school loans. This is probably due to the familiarity people have with banks; after all, people drive past banks everywhere they go. It’s not too often, however, that they run across bond underwriting companies and investment banks on the way to and from work.…

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