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Another negative aspect of living in a church parsonage..

Discussion in 'Pastoral Ministries' started by Batt4Christ, Jun 9, 2013.

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  1. Batt4Christ

    Batt4Christ Member
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    I recently accepted another pastorate. We have been looking at buying a home, as the new church has no parsonage, and rental property is hard to come by.

    But -

    While we have a solid credit score, and the new church is giving a sufficient housing allowance in addition to base salary and benefits, underwriters are throwing red flags over the fact that we have no recent (past 4 years) "housing record" - aka - we haven't paid rent or a house payment in that time.

    Our loan officer has been talking to underwriters at several mortgage banks, and they all are hesitant to write a loan without that housing background. She is frustrated, and we are disappointed.

    But I thought it a good idea to post this so that others can keep this in mind - especially if you are a pastor in a position where you may one day need to buy a home, or are possibly going to be living in a parsonage... Just something to keep in mind.
     
    #1 Batt4Christ, Jun 9, 2013
  2. Tom Bryant

    Tom Bryant Well-Known Member

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    Congratulations on the new Ministry! God bless you.

    I agree about this. As I get ever closer to retirement, my house is a particular investment. It is one that I would not have if I was living in a church owned parsonage.
     
    #2 Tom Bryant, Jun 10, 2013
  3. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    Thanks for that info- very timely for us!
     
    #3 Mexdeaf, Jun 10, 2013
  4. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    I'm wondering how a military guy would answer this.

    Say he is overseas for three years (which is common) lives in govt quarters - he does not pay rent, just does not get BAQ - comes back to the Stats and then buys a house.

    Thats exactly what I did twice- granted many years ago - and I had no problem getting a loan.
     
    #4 Salty, Jun 10, 2013
  5. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    There is probably a special program for military.

    And as one who is in the process of trying to sell my house now, I'll tell you that things have really tightened up since 2008. Getting a mortgage is much more difficult unless you have a perfect credit score and 20% to put down.
     
    #5 Mexdeaf, Jun 10, 2013
  6. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    No special pgm - other than the GI Bill - which is NOT a loan - the govt only guarantees the loan- after a bank has approved it. The bank did not allow a loan for the first house I wanted - so I ended up getting a smaller one - which was approved.
    The point is - I had not history of paying rent for 3 years - and I still got a loan -for which I could afford.
     
    #6 Salty, Jun 10, 2013
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