New Jersey church giving away a house -- all you have to do is pay to move it

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A church is giving away a home in northern New Jersey.

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There is just one condition -- whoever buys the three-story residence must pay to move it.

 

The Redeemer Montclair Church, which owns the house at 23 N. Willow St., has used the house for office space and its children's ministry, NJ.com reported. However, the church is constructing a new building for those offices -- a two-story addition connected to the rear of the main church building, Montclair Local reported.

The church, therefore, decided to demolish the old building.

That is, unless someone steps up to move it.

The offer to take ownership of the 3,330-square-foot building, which was built in 1910, was first reported by Montclair Local.

"The Historic Preservation Committee in town asked if we could make the house available to someone who wanted to pay to move it before we demolished it," Daniel Ying, the church's senior pastor, told NJ.com.

The church received approval from the zoning board in 2017 to demolish the six-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house, Montclair Local reported.

Because of the old building's height, Ying said a new owner would have to temporarily move the power lines to move the house, according to NJ.com.

“That’s just as big of an obstacle as the cost,” Ying told the website.

Ying said he didn't know how much it would cost to move this home, but the total cost of moving a home can range from as little as $15,000 to as much as $200,000, according to Realtor.com.

The church placed an advertisement in Montclair Local for the last three Thursdays and said the home would be demolished in January if its offer was not accepted.

Kathleen Bennett, the chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Committee, suggested the giveaway to the church.

"Save it and move it," Bennett told NJ.com. "Then it would be saved and loved by another generation."

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