Churches do need money now and then to make the home of God, beautiful and available for all. Though God doesn’t want to be beautified, we, the servant of God, we are never resting until we make his creating place beautiful. The Church fund is not wealthy and therefore can not afford huge investments. This is when a church needs to borrow or lend some money. We have tried to help you by providing a detailed list of the loan requirements for church loans.
Loan Requirements for Church
Any organization will always expand its part to help a holy mission, therefore, various banks and investment organizations help churches get their desired loans from time to time. A church is considered a commercial enterprise and not a residential mortgage. Hence the loan repayment process is not similar nor is the time and conditions. There are different growing churches and they need loans. The facilities like low construction costs and low interest allowed for churches, it makes the loan repayment process easier for churches. In this section, we will help you provide a church loan guidelines. There might be various reasons for a church to lend money: Prayer hall extension, Expansion of family centers, A center to support diverted youths and families, Community outreach, For building any new facilities, and many more.
What are the church loan requirements?
Churches need to get ready with their expense list, the purpose, and goals of the loan amount, the asset they have to repay the loan, the list of earings by the church through tithes and offerings, donations, etc. Let’s dig into the matter and understand everything that comes with church loans and its requirements.
A detailed checklist for getting church loans
There are a few steps to follow before you start the lending process.
Choose your desired lender
Choose an institution that has a good record of church loans. Contact someone who does the Ifs and Buts of the church loan process. Always go for the reputed banks like U.S banks, Bank of America, Citi bank, etc are the best banks for church loans.
Make a contact
Once you decide the lender, it’s time to contact him/her/their. Call them or email and fix up a meeting for a thorough understanding of the process involved in church loans.
Meet physically with your Lender party
You have to talk openly with the lender about your needs and budget, expenses, etc. You need to mention some important points like estimated property values, current attendance, current debt load, average tithes and offerings(weekly or annual), and the purpose and goal of the loan you are about to take. If your church plans to expand any particular area or construct any additional building, provide the.with the construction plan. It will help them decide the amount that will be suitable for you.
Understand all the concepts
It is very important to know about the loan process for the father who will be in charge of the whole process. Ask them about the loan or our terms which they will eventually explain to you. Additionally, know the difference between residential and commercial loans. Terms and conditions of the loan, what will be the initial fees, who to do the process easily, what is the closing process, what will be the construction draw process, etc. The lender might ask you about your repayment money, if you already have a debt, they will surely ask you, from where you are going to get so much amount, is there an offering being given to you or any other income sources. Explain everything and clear all doubts in order to get the best deals.
What documents are required?
The documents required are,
- You have to provide your three years of financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
- Current year-to-date financial statements. Keep at least a balance sheet that shows the previous two consecutive years’ expenses and church liabilities.
- Also, prepare the current market appraisal of your property
- You need a corporate resolution authorizing the loan amount and authorized signatures to sign the loan
- Copy of current constitution and bylaws
- You have to make sure that in the Title search there are no liens or encumbrance
- Survey of the property
How to get loans for church- The Final Process
After you have followed all the pre-loan processes it’s time to get a loan for your church. It’s time to get your application ready. You don’t shave to worry at all because your lender will walk you through the process. This will ensure better and proper follow up of the process.
- You have to submit an approval letter to the bank.
- Your approval will take 2-6 months’ time.
- Once you get the approval, you will receive a letter that has all the necessary information like, final loan amount, the terms and conditions of the loan process.
- You have to sign the important documents in order to provide your consent for the main approval. Once you sign it, your loan will be scheduled for closing.
What are the Best-practice recommendations when shopping for a church loan?
Here are a few to help you understand the loan concept for churches.
- The best first thing you should consider for the well being of the church is the loan money. Don’t take too many loans at one go. Consider your tithes and offerings before you decide the loan money. Consider the fact about how much your church can borrow. Remember, you cannot repay using the designated benevolence and missions!
- When making a contract with the lender, make sure you don’t have a prepayment penalty. This will help you take advantage of and pay off the principal amount. There are times when your church might have extra earnings from offerings and tithes, usee that extra money to repay your loan.
- It is best to get into a long term loan repayment contract for a church that doesn’t have much earning. All the money the church comes from the offerings and tithes. Hence, some months can have really low incomes for the church. Therefore a longer amortization schedule will be the best option for you.
- Understand the terms of interest clearly before you sign the loan contract.
These are the details of church loan requirements.
Can Church borrow interest-free loans
Yes, churches can borrow interest free loans from their members. No rate of interest for churches will be taken if churches decide to borrow some amount from their members.
There are various situations when churches need economical support if the church is all and doesn’t own many assets, they can take help from their members. Generally, churchgoers make a community and contribute some amount which is surplus to a huge amount. It’s called community collection. The church can then use the collected money for it’s repairing or any other purpose.
Interest free loans to churches will fall under the tax-free section and hence should be dealt with proper and lawful guidance. There is a concept ” imputed- interest” where the lender(member) will provide the money as a gift to the church, which normally happens and the borrower(church) will repay the loan amount after the needful is done.
Can the Church give loans???
Yes, the answer to your question “can church loan money to its members ?” is yes. Churches can give loans because they have been providing low-interest loans to the poor for various reasons. Basically, churches actually do not loan money to get back it with interest. Church loans to members basically help from the faith, hence, interest-earning is not an option. Money is served as a benevolent gift to its members. They don’t want the money back unless the member decides to repay the loans and that too, without interest. Churches generally are exempted from tax and therefore it becomes easier for churches to lend money. But that doesn’t mean a church will get into a lending money business.
There are few risks for churches when providing loans to its members
- The most obvious reason should be the feat of loss of the loaned money. It can sometimes happen that the member is not repaying the loan amount back. This can create a shortage of capital for the church body to run properly. Hence, when lending money, churches should be wise enough.
- The church is not a bank and hence, it becomes impossible for the church members to keep track of all the money they have lent to their members. Lending money needs a very good observation system, to make the transactions smooth.
- The members who are responsible for fiduciary roles should be well aware and competent to keep the church assets intact.
Hence, the answer to “Can church lend money?” Is yes, but one should also consider the risks involved in it.
Churches are offered a flexible repayment time and lower interest rates for their ease. Before taking a loan, you should consider the fact that churches have low earnings and hence, should be dealt with differently from other commercial organizations. Always go for your old banks or if this is your first time, go for the best banks in the USA.
