‘I spent $75k on a church I found on Facebook Marketplace’

A Brisbane mum has made an unusual first home purchase — an abandoned church she found for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

A woman has shared the unusual way she found her dream home. Picture: Supplied

A Red Hill mum has made an unusual first home purchase — an abandoned church she found for sale on Facebook Marketplace in early January.

Tiffany Barlow, 38, had dreamt of owning a church for almost a decade, so when she came across a Facebook Marketplace listing for a church in the Banana Shire, in the Capricorn region of Queensland, she knew it was an opportunity she could not pass up.

“I always love salvaging, recycling and making things new again,” she said.

“I’m always looking for religious things, oddities, just strange things to preserve, so I guess an old church was in my algorithm.

“It wasn’t even a decision I actively made. If it was for real and wasn’t a scam … it wasn’t even a decision.”

The church had been sitting on a vacant block for over 20 years, completely untouched. But when the landlords, an elderly couple, asked their nephew to put up a listing online in early January, more than 1000 offers were sent through within days.

Ms Barlow is obsessed with finding strange things on Facebook Marketplace. Picture: Supplied

Ms Barlow said she felt extremely lucky when she received a response from the seller.

“He (the nephew) rang me to see what kind of person I was. I drove five hours to meet them,” she said.

Just 21 days later, the sale was finalised, paying $75,000 for the church building and the land.

@fannybarlow I bought an abandoned church off Facebook marketplace #gothicgirl #gothic #gothicarchitecture #church #abandoned #abandonedplaces #abandonedhouse #australia #hauntedhouse ♬ original sound - Fanny Barlow

Refuting rumours that the church was haunted, she described the building as peaceful.

“It’s not scary and not spooky … but I’ve never stayed the night, pending update,” she joked.

“It feels good, it has a really good energy and quite peaceful, actually.

“This building has been here a long time. High ceilings, no asbestos, all masonite, it’s a beautiful clean slate that can be made into basically whatever I want.”

The origins of the church are a bit of a mystery, with Ms Barlow stating the local council doesn’t have any records of it.

Ms Barlow has had to keep the exact location of the church under wraps to protect it from intruders. Picture: Supplied

“It’s difficult because the people I brought it from because don’t really know anything about it,” she said.

“A lot of people around town don’t know anything about it. I know it was in use at one stage because the carpet was cut around where the altar is.”

She said her children, now in their teens and early 20s, were not surprised by her decision to buy the church.

“They know I’ve been looking for a church for the past 10 years and I love salvaging abandoned spaces,” she said.

A 40-foot shipping container is now situated out front of the church full of salvaged materials and quirky Facebook Marketplace finds.

“The church doors are from Thor: Ragnarok. It was a massive find. We’re salvaging other movie set parts too,” she said.

Ms Barlow says she plans to leave Brisbane and live on the Banana Shire property before Brisbane 2032. Picture: Supplied

Responding to online critics who accuse her of desecrating the church, she says letting it rot is worse.

“What’s blasphemous is leaving it to rot to this housing crisis,” she said.

“I’ve been expecting to feel as if I’m in over my head, but it’s been the opposite.

“The thought of being out of the rat race is becoming more appealing to me. It’s my first property, and before now I’ve stressed every week of my life about if I’ll ever get to retire. It’s given me a lot of relief for my future.”

She said other millennials are forced to make similar unconventional decisions to get a foot into the housing market.

“There aren’t many opportunities. There’s no guarantor. This is what we’re (millennials) going to have to do,” she said.

Despite her enthusiasm for the project, she is still a while off making her move out west.

“I’m going to restore the church and live out the back. Hopefully before the Olympics,” she said.

“I thought I couldn’t adapt to a country lifestyle, but I’m confident in doing it. People in town have offered to maintain the block for me. They’ve made me feel really welcome.”