NEWS RELEASE

AGREEMENT REACHED ON RENTAL PROPERTY

Session approved a recommendation at its meeting Wednesday evening, August 29, to accept the Real Estate Contract proposed by Community Bank for the purchase of the Rental Property and associated lots (211 and 219 West Frederick Streets).  The agreed‑upon price for the sale is $270,000, which is consistent with separate appraisals conducted both by the Session and the bank over the past several months.

The  contract was negotiated by a team made up of members of the Stewardship and Finance Committee, Property Committee, and Trustees, and was spearheaded by Elder Jerry Fry.  No broker or other agent was used to reach this agreement, saving both parties up to $30,000 in fees normally associated with a business real estate transaction of this sort.

There are certain legal steps which must be taken to finalize the sale, which is scheduled to close on January 2, 2008.  This date represents a compromise between the bank, which wanted a July 2008 closing, and Second=s team, which wanted to close as soon as possible.  Among the steps that remain is the necessity to petition the local court to approve the sale, consistent with Virginia laws concerning the sale of property by church entities.

The agreement reached is six pages long, and includes the following:

• The bank agrees to purchase the property in its present condition and state of repair (as is).

• The bank agrees to make three parking spaces available to the church for staff parking during the week.  (In addition, there is nothing in the contract that prohibits the church from using the parking lot during non‑business hours, such as evenings and Sundays.)

• All existing leases will be honored by the bank as it assumes possession of the property.  Essentially, as of January 2, 2008, this will be the lease with the Veterans Affairs Office.  The Session is prohibited by the agreement from entering into any new leases for space in the building, or from modifying any of the existing leases.

The Session approved the contract by unanimous vote; however, Elder Danny Fields abstained from voting due to his employment with Community Bank, and Dan Williams did not participate in the vote beyond his duties of moderating the meeting.

Questions about the pending sale of the rental building should be directed to Elder Jerry Fry.