Crystal Cathedral's Robert A. Schuller 'Short Sells' Calif. Home to Avoid Foreclosure
The former senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, Robert A. Schuller, has announced that he will default on his home in Laguna Beach, Calif., after unsuccessful attempts to sell the home before its Nov. 2 foreclosure date.
"I'm short-selling my house. I have more loans than I can sell the house for," Schuller said in a recent interview with the Orange County Register.
"The house will not go into foreclosure. It will be a short sale," Schuller said, adding: "I can't afford the house as I once could."
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Schuller, who is the son of the Crystal Cathedral's founder, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, is reportedly seeking approval from the bank to sell his home for less than its original purchasing price of $952,500, as he cannot afford the $1.66 million he owes in two mortgages on the property. Schuller reportedly already has a buyer willing to purchase the property.
The home, located in the high-profile gated community of Three Arch Bay in South Laguna Beach, was previously advertised as a spiritual retreat center for $700 per night, or $5,000 per week, on the popular vacation rental website AirBnB.
"Reading, journaling, praying, hiking, swimming, shell collecting and exploring one of the most beautiful beaches in the world" were some of the activities listed on the advertisement for the home as a vacation rental.
According to the OC Register, Schuller and his wife, Donna, have been lowering the selling price on their home since July 2010, but have been unsuccessful in their attempts to sell.
His father, Robert H. Schuller, founded the famed Crystal Cathedral in Orange County in 1980 for the Reformed Church of America. The congregation, housed in a high-reaching, reflective glass building, eventually filed for bankruptcy in Oct. 2010 and was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County in Feb. 2012.
The Schuller family received public criticism after it was revealed that some of their members continued to receive lavish compensation while failing to pay church bills, resulting in a nearly $50 million debt on the property.
Slowly but surely, several members of the Schuller family left the Crystal Cathedral congregation to pursue new lines of ministry. However, the elder Schuller's grandson, Bobby Schuller, has returned to the congregation to occasionally preach.
