Are there any real estate gurus in here?

I've been searching for a house for... reasons... and it hasn't been going very well. I've been outbid twice and the market seems to be heating up with viable homes selling more and more quickly. My budget is embarrassingly low since I'll essentially be paying two mortgages but, the house needs to be suitable for one adult and two teenagers so, three beds, one bath minimum for less than $75k. Luckily (I guess) our little corner of central Illinois has somewhat depressed home prices so, there are a *few* options but they would either stretch the budget or require a LOT of work.


The kids and I have gone on several bike rides through town and we've noticed an old church that has been for sale for a bit. It's not one of those fancy-looking churches, it's made of concrete blocks and looks more like a bomb shelter or fall-out bunker than a church. On a whim, I searched the address and found some pictures and a price. It looks decent on the inside and it's within my budget. Apparently, the former owners put this one up for sale when they built a huge, fancy mega-church across town. 


My reasoning is, these buildings are built to withstand tons of foot traffic and everything should be easily serviceable so it should make a very sturdy home with reasonably easy upkeep.


My dilemma is, of course, it's not zoned to be a residence. It has a kitchen, bathroom, and living quarters but, it's zoned R2 commercial.


Is there a GRMer among us who has sailed these waters and knows the ins and outs of having a building rezoned so that it can be used as a primary residence? 

I can't answer the zoning but my mom has a friend that lives in an old church.  The parents tell their kids that they were conceived at the alter.

R2 is residential zoning. That's what the "R" is. 
 

It generally permits high density residential (apartments, etc), but does not  restrict single family.

R2 Commercial sounds like a high density residential district that also permits light commercial.

I almost bought an abandoned church when I was young. I wish I had.

I assumed the R2 was some other sort of designation. 

In the listing, it says "Possible uses: Investment, Office, Retail"

That would be great if it's already properly zoned, as I have no idea how to navigate that particular arena.


I'm hoping that is the case when I contact them Monday morning.

Look at the properties around it. See what they are zoned for. Most cities will allow a church to be built just about anywhere. The city may have given the church permission to build there but they wouldn't allow commercial development. The "commercial" add on could be because of the congestion that comes with a church.

Also, see if there are Land Use rules, they lay over the zoning maps and can screw you too.

In reply to The_Jed :

Those are possibles. It's common to list posssibilities that are above and beyond residential.

Then there's also the issue of property taxes since as a church it's tax burden was listed as $0.


The church in question is in the middle of a neighborhood, surrounded by houses.

In reply to The_Jed :

That's not an issue. The town will be happy to charge you taxes. 

In reply to SV reX :

Oh yes, the current house is just under $4,000 per year. They very happily do that! LOL

In reply to The_Jed :

If you want to know the amount, just ask the tax assessors office. I'm sure there is an existing assessment, and all they have to do is multiply that by the millage rate. 
 

Thanks!

Also, zoning typically designates the highest / most dense / most commercial use allowable. You are usually allowed to use a building for a "lower" use such as single family residential so long as it meets building and life safety codes for that use.

Good luck!

In reply to Duke :

For it to meet the residential requirements it may be required to have bathing capability not just a commercial men's room and ladies room.  

I'm not sure if these would be zoning requirements or lender requirements

In reply to John Welsh :

I'm sure the building would need to be modified to meet his needs, but zoning shouldn't be a problem. Usage is different than zoning. 

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes, and bedrooms will need to have 2 means of egress, and a number of other things that will need to confirmed or addressed.

But if that happens he won't be prohibited from living there by the zoning.

My old boss bought a former church about 15 years ago. It's about 3500 sf in the main room which is now his model train room. HO scale. Must be miles of track.

A guy rents the old rectory and watches the property and maintains the grounds (1 acre). The full basement, also about 3500 sf, is pretty much empty.

My boss and a couple buddies are there 2-3 days a week running the trains, revamping the layout, drinking beer, whatever. It's about 5 miles from his house so out of his wife's shouting range.

His neighbors love him because the place is really maintained and cared for but no crowds of cars on Sundays, or any other days for that matter. It still looks exactly like a church.

If it's not currently up to code to be used as a residence (bathing space, proper ingress/egress from bedrooms, etc) then traditional financing is likely off the table right? So you'd either have to find some alternate means of paying for this place, or you'd have to spend some money out of pocket to bring it up to code before seeking traditional financing.

The_Jed said:

Then there's also the issue of property taxes since as a church it's tax burden was listed as $0.


The church in question is in the middle of a neighborhood, surrounded by houses.

Opportunities, my friend! 

Good luck with your search, regardless. 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I was just about to suggest this. I have a couple friends who became ordained ministers via some website with minimal effort or money. Jed would just need to setup a non-profit & occasionally hold "services" at his new home. 

Here it's legit to have a "caretaker" and family live in industrial/commercial properties, so you might try that route.

All zoning is local. Every town and city makes their own rules. The law firm I work for specializes in this stuff. We actually help cities write their zoning laws. For Dallas, the surrounding suburbs and other cities in Texas. Where you live is probably different.

The International Zoning Code will give you some idea what your city does. Some cities buy this code and copy it word for word. Other cities use it with variations or make up their own.

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IZC2021P1/preface#IZC2021P1_FmPREFACE_FMSecIntroduction

Call your city and ask for a copy of their code. They may actually have it posted online. Or talk to a local lawyer who is experienced in zoning and who works with land owners and developers.

I'm not an expert, but have spent hours reading through zoning laws over the last 2 years. And, I have looked at buying a house or apartment in Peoria Heights, Pekin, Bartonville, Normal, and Bloomington in a past life. 
 

If you want to PM me the address, I can take a look and opine on what would be needed. My experience down there is that they're relatively lenient, but that is always a town by town situation. 

No input on the zoning other than call in to your town zoning office, or even stop by and just have a conversation. They'll probably want to be helpful. 

Good luck, church->house sounds like a fun project. 

I spoke with the HMFIC today and he said it's zoned R4 and at one point in the not-too-distant past it was slated to be sold to a developer and split up to be used as rental apartments.

He didn't know why that plan fell through and he hasn't physically seen the inside of the building, just the few pictures that are posted in the ad.


Anyway, here's the link to the ad:


linky

That's much nicer than I expected.  If that was available here I'd jump on it.  So much space for activities in the parking lot.