Foreclosure Hits a Fresno Church | ABC30 Fresno

kfsn

By ABC30

Friday, May 8, 2009

Fresno, CA Community Church occupied this building on Maroa and Barstow in Fresno for over ten years. It's a total of 14-thousand square feet inside ... two point two acres outside.

The church tried to keep its doors open ... But after reportedly falling eight months behind in mortgage payments ... It had to move out.

Reynaldo Montalvo ... The realtor on the property says it's rare for a church to go into foreclosure.

However, today's tough economic climate may be changing even a church's ability to pay. People are making less money and giving less away ... and churches are having to cut back.

/*Grace Community Church*/ has moved to a small storefront facility near Cedar and Shields. But no one was around to talk to us.

According to the Credit Union Times ... The 1.2 billion dollar Evangelical Christian Credit Union had to foreclose on seven of its 1100 loans in 2008. And the latest figures from the California Baptist Foundation's Strong Tower Financial show 10 percent of it's 119 million dollars in outstanding church loans are in default.

Montalvo says most churches try to sell before they go into foreclosure.

Although this church was built 40 years ago ... Montalvo says the roof is in good shape and the indoor space simply needs cosmetic changes.

The property's been on the market for three weeks now and just within the last week 20 people have come through to take a look. In fact, there's been one offer for 1.4 million dollars cash.

Montalvo believes he can sell the property within the next couple of weeks.