Commitment - Tags

We need help with taxes

Posted by nt1962 on 2012-02-17 15:58:59

We desperately need your help! We are a small church located in an economically disadvantaged community. We own a house that was deeded over to us by a former pastor and are at risk of losing that property because of our inability to pay some past due taxes on the property.

The house was deeded to the church over 30 years ago by a former pastor of the church who had become ill and subsequently passed away. The house is not located in the same community as the church. (In fact, it is some distance away from the church, and therefore could not be utilized for church-related purposes which would have taken it off of the tax roll). As a result of gentrification in that community, the property values have increased tremendously. The property tax assessment for the property owned by the church escalated to staggering heights during the housing bubble.

Because of this the church has had much difficulty keeping up with all of the taxes on the property (a general tax, a school tax, and a village tax). The rental income from the property is used to assist the church with operating expenses, maintenance of all of the church properties, as well as paying the taxes. Finally, reassessment in the last couple of years has brought down the amount of taxes to be paid and we are better able to handle some of the current taxes due, but some of the older taxes were sold and consolidated in tax lien sales. The consolidation of the prior taxes due has hurt us tremendously. Numerous times the unpaid taxes were consolidated prior to our completion of raising enough funds to pay off some of them in their unconsolidated state. Individually some were $1,000 to $3,000 respectively. They have been consolidated totaling almost $19,000. We are not permitted to pay the liens individually which was viable, we have to pay them in total.

There is a holding company based in the community where the house is located which purchased those liens. That company is now a few months away from being able to begin foreclosure proceedings and take a valuable piece of real estate out from under the church. This would be devastating to the church.

The church has been in the process of trying to sell the house and use the proceeds from the sale to build a much needed new church building in the community it is located as well as to pay off those outstanding liens at closing, and to unload a property that was once a blessing to the church, but has long since become a burden. We donât want to lose the property. We want to be able to sell it. We had some offers on the house, but at the last minute a promising deal fell through. Previously interested buyers, for some reason now, are less interested. We feel it is possible that there may some collusion within the community where the house is located to wait for the lien process to move forward and that potential purchasers connected with the holding company will be able to take the property and flip it to tremendous financial advantage, while leaving the church with nothing for thirty years of struggling to take care of the property.

It is important that we are allowed to sell the house and build our new church. We are in the final stages of making the new building a reality. All we have to do is secure the construction financing. Receipt of a commitment letter for the sale of the house is all that stands in the way of a 40+ year dream for the congregation. It would give us the down-payment that we need to move forward.

With the construction of a new church, we would be able to operate before and after school programs, have handicap accessible restrooms, and provide better services to the community. We have a senior citizens housing complex across the street from our church, and many of the residents would attend our church but they are unable to climb up and down the stairs to the single-person restrooms in the basement. We also operate a summer day camp which would benefit greatly from having more space in which to operate. We would be able to accommodate many more youngsters, many of whose families are unable to afford the other summer camps operating in the area. We have had to turn down prospective campers because of space constraints.

Our congregational makeup has changed over the years. The financial impact of that changed has been coupled with the severe impact of the economic downturn on our community. We have more retirees now on fixed income, youth, and small children, many of whom have young mothers, and some people who are working age, mostly with working class wages. We need to build a church to better meet the needs of our congregation and community. We operate a food pantry and soup kitchen which would be able to open more days a week with bigger pantry space and a modern commercial kitchen.

As I stated, we are in the final stages of the building project. We have our permits, plans, and contractor selected. We are ready to obtain financing. The congregation, which has always striven to do much with little, has invested much in this projected over the years and the sale of this property owned by the church is the one thing that stands in the way of it happening. Please do not let us lose this property just so a few people can make a quick buck. Help us to pay off these tax liens so that our church will be able to help transform an entire community!

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