by brojo 9 Replies latest jw friends
Hi all. I have a question. Who actually owns the Kingdom Halls in the US? The local congregation (which has paid or is paying the mortgage) or the WT Society? How about the land on which the hall is built? An article on Freeminds.org says that the Society owns the land even though the local congregation may be paying the mortgage. Does anyone have knowledge of how this all works?
Joe
It's complicated.
Just trust Jehovah's visible organization implicitly and all will be well.
Joe,
I know that in one congregation I was associated with, the congregation appointed trustees who acted in their behalf (always 3 elders) but the congregation as an entity actually owned the hall and the property. I think that arrangement is becoming more rare. This particular congregation's hall was about 25-30 years old and no RBC style work with WTS loans were done.
Many are now incorporated and I believe the articles of incorporation state that the congregation owns the land/hall until such time as they are dissolved, then it reverts to the WTS.
Of course, the WTS has put out a lovely brochure explaining the two ways ownership is handled. I think I may have a copy at home. I'll look through my stuff and report back.
It's not yours nor mine brojo.
Hope this helps...
The Society owns them.
changeling
The Society owns them.
changeling
Through Hook and Crook Finanicial Advisors and Realty Ventures
The society owns them, and it makes sense too that they own them. A long time ago it use to be that the Title of the Land and Hall was in the name of the local elder or elders, but as it happens so often, elders go ‘bad’ and the WTS did loose some land and KH’s from elder’s who refused to hand the title over once they left the WTS. So as much as we might hate the WTS it makes sense that the title is always in the name of the WTS and if any of the locals brothers think that they own the building that they built and paid for then, they are fools. What if over time the local elders and brothers move as is mostly the case, over a few years you can get situations where the whole B.O.E has changed and half of the publishers has also changed, does the land and kingdom hall moved with them? Of course not. It doesn’t matter who builds it or pays for it, the WTS owns it and the local brothers are free to use it as long as they stay JW’s.
The WTB&TS is not only a publishing house, it is a real estate holding company that has been fleecing their flock for decades!
It would have been better if it was the property of the local JWs and not of a specific JW or the WTS. If at the end of the day it's the locals that put up all the cost to buy land and built why should the WTS come to be the owner?
Let's recall if it need be they lend money to the local dubs to build a KH, with interest added on the repayments. Paradoxically even after all the loan is paid back the WTS gets the title deed on top.
As with ANY mortgage, until the debt is paid off, the property belongs to the lender.
From the OE "dead pledge" - that is if the debtor dies before the debt is paid off, the property becomes that of the lender.
Last week it was announced that under new UK charity laws, "if a congregation is disbanded, its funds and property will be distributed PRO RATA."
Wonder how that will be calculated??
HB
