I am going to hold a short term mortgage of $25000 for a church. What type of documentation do I need from them to protect myself from a worse case scenario? Such as, incorporation papers, named officers who will sign for the church, who or what will be the responsible party?

I know how to buy and sell without a lawyer and usually do the documents myself and file with the courthouse myself if the transaction is simple and a mortgage company is not involved.

I know how to buy and sell without a lawyer and usually do the documents myself and file with the courthouse myselfHello darlene:

There are a lot of transactions that don't really need a lawyers supervision.. Writing a mortgage or promissory note wouldn't be one of them..

excon

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excon expressed a valid opinion here and a negative rating was inappropriate. I happen to agree with him here. If you were loaning money to an individual then I would say you can get a boilerplate promissory note using the property as collateral and D-I-Y. I would NOT recommend that dealing with a church. There are too many legal loopholes that need to be plugged here and I cannot in good conscience recommend that you try to D-I-Y. If you want to protect yourself, then you will have an attorney draw up a contract. In addition ANY question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area. We couldn't begin to advise you without knowing what local laws might apply.

does not find this helpful: My question was not answered. They just said I needed a lawyer.Hello again, Darlene:

Oh, but I did answer your question... You asked how to protect yourself.

The question you asked could have been answered by telling you to buy a boiler plate promissory note at your local office supply store and use that. It would WORK. It would be EASY. It would be CHEAP. It would be something you could DO yourself. And, if the church makes all its payments on time, it's going to wind up being the right decision...

But, contracts aren't written in anticipation of everybody DOING what they're SUPPOSED to do. They're written in anticipation of people DEFAULTING on their obligations, and what happens if they do.

Anything you could prepare yourself won't protect you in all circumstances, and you could LOSE your property. At the very least, you'll need a lawyer THEN to sue the church for your money. It's cheaper to hire one NOW, instead of later...

So, you asked, what is the best way to protect my interests when I'm taking a mortgage on some property. And I told you.

Excon