A workshop on the Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit program will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 22 at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. Organizers say there is going to be a special announcement at the beginning of the meeting from the Allentown Association and the Preservation League of NYS about an initiative that will streamline the use of the credits while boosting planning efforts in Allentown.
The Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit will cover 20 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs of structures, up to a credit value of $50,000. Houses must be an owner-occupied residential structure and be individually listed on the State or National Register of Historic Places, or a contributing building in a historic district that is listed on the state or National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the house needs to be located in an eligible census tract. At least $5,000 must be expended on qualifying work and at least 5 percent of the total project must be spent on the exterior of the building. Most residential properties in the Allentown Historic Preservation District are eligible for the program.
This seminar is the first to be presented to a targeted neighborhood audience that qualifies for the credit. Speakers will explain how property owners can certify their building and access the program's benefits immediately.
The event is sponsored by the New York State Office of Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Allentown Association, Preservation League of New York State, Preservation Buffalo Niagara and the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site.
To register, call 716.852.3300 or send an email to Preservation Buffalo Niagara (email address) with your name, address, and phone number.
I will check out what this streamline initiative is. This program is hard to utilize for me. First is the minimum of 5000-dollar expenditure to qualify. I don't know about other homeowners but that is a chunk of change for me. It seems that every time I have a bunch of money it is going to taxes, sewer rent, water or some other necessity to live.
Then you have to let "them" in on what you are doing which means letting the city get involved. And we all know what a can of worms that is.
No thanks I would rather put my couple grand a year into projects without having all the added fees, studies and architectural prints drawn! This way if I can spend 2 grand I get 2 grand worth of actual work.
I hear ya. I live in the West Village and went before the Preservation Board yesterday for approval to replace my rotted slate mansard roof with an asphalt slate looking shingle. My total budget is $5000 and they're giving me a hard time about it just for the sake of it. Every other house in the West Village with Mansard roofs have asphalt shingles but they're trying to hold me to using slate or a composite slate which is 3 times more money minimally. They suggested this tax credit but I would have to spend $15k to use the qualifying materials all for 20% tax credit. What does that even equal to monetarily?
The bottom line is that I do not have a penny over $5k for my roof and since they didn't hold anyone else to the rule why should I be the only one? But then there's a guy like Paladino with holes in the roof of the Greystone and no one is on his case. I'm actually trying to improve my house and consequently my neighborhood and I'm being persecuted because I can't afford a roof material that no one will even look at anyway. This is a big reason why people don't move into the city, you have to jump through hoops just to improve your home. How many other 30 year olds are rehabbing 130 year old homes in the city? They want me to spend half my salary on a roof just so when they drive through my neighborhood it feels more authentic. I digress.
Can you tell me where you are getting a $5000 roof?
Naples Roofing, Labor is $4000, material is approx $1000. I only have 8 square of mansard roof. The shingle I want to use is Camelot 30 year by GAF. If anyone can find me a comparable synthetic material in that price range I will gladly use it.
You have to just do things. I am one of those guys that does research and I want to put my house back to as close to original as I can get. AND it has to be within reason cost wise. I do not use substandard materials or methods. I do all my own wiring and plumbing within the highest standard. It is my house and I want it as near perfect as possible. Am I anal? Yeah!
But when you bring in the city and preservation board they have to adhere to State standards that sometimes don't make sense within the city and preservation district.
A friend has to rehab an older building... if he restores more than 50% he has to conform to current standards. Which means installing fire shutters (over $1,000 per window) on windows that are less than 3 feet from the property line or move the wall to current standard (3 feet from property line.) Not to mention in a historical district they would have to be installed inside. It's plain ridiculous.
Bottom line…do the work when inspectors are in the office. Don't make a lot of noise. Throw debris out stealthily. Etc.
It is sad but the city definitely doesn't work with you or the cities housing stock would be in much better condition.
"as close to original as I can get"
The funny thing with restoring old homes and preservationism is there is a subtle element of hypocrisy. I say that because the idea of preservation is really only expected to follow a 50% rule: the outside of the home. How often to restoration projects return the inside of the home to original condition? You're not going to have gas lamps in your home, are you? Wood-burning stove? Indoor plumbing didn't come around until...? There was no such thing as dry wall. Lord knows dishwashers came in one style: the women of the home. So if I don't have to turn the clock back on the inside of my home, then why is it mandated that I jump through hoops on my left foot but only on cloudy days while throwing a penny over my right shoulder to improve the exterior of my home? Just an observation, correct me if I'm wrong.
I have actually thought about gas lamps, but just in the living room and dinning room as an accent for special occasions. All the piping is there. I have a couple original lamps still hooked up in the attic. Pressure test the lines, install a cut off…
But you are right about the hypocrisy. But we should count our blessings. Imagine if they had "control" of the inside too!!!
I have found out what my original porch looked like and I am going to have 250 spindles made to match the original so I can return the porch to what it looked like. I probably will not involve the preservation board. I do what I can do within reason and budget without returning totally to Victorian times. Although I have to admit the thought is intriguing!
i doubt it is the fault of preservationists that things like gas-fired lamps and fireplaces are against code.
for those who prefer accurate period interiors, there are very good replica appliances and lighting fixtures. i heard a business that retrofits vintage stoves to meet modern safety standards.
it is hypocrisy that exteriors are under review if you live in a preservation district but interiors are not? i consider it a wise compromise between public and private interests.
I'm with some of their standards when it comes to things like vinyl siding over brick or wood clapboard but there's a gray area with replacement windows. I have them on the second floor and I'm not going to put wood sash's back in. There needs to be a consideration of energy savings. Of course I can get double paned insulated wood windows but at 4 times the cost. In my situation I really feel I'm being held up simply for the sake of it. If they only spent this much energy preventing neglect to other buildings and being proactive there would be a lot less empty lots and more people fixing up there homes without worrying about being hung from the gallows for using a modern roofing product. All they say is there are other options but give you no direction to actual options that I can afford.
That's what I have been doing up until this point. I have done 100% of the work myself. I am hiring a roofer because I do not have the means to do it by myself in a short amount of time. Since I am using a contractor I had to pull a permit, which sends a red flag of course. I am starting to regret doing it the honest way as it may end up costing me more money. I can see why people who own properties in historic areas neglect them. I don't think its always intentional but at some point you get to where i am. You try to get something fixed but the city tells you to do it a certain way that you can't afford so you leave it alone. Next thing you know a few years go by and you have a hole in your roof thats 5 times as much to repair so you let your building rot. I am not saying I agree with that by any stretch but I think that's a likely scenario for some property owners. Rest assured I will not let that happen to my house though. Anyway I am staying positive and hopeful that I can work this out with preservation without spending money I don't have.
There is a time when you simply have to do the math...I'm sixty + what do I have? Maybe 25 more years = what will last and what does need to be fixed to last another 25.
My house will easily stand another 50 years so I’m covered there. I will need a roof and I will have the money in 3 years to do it. Then it can be all cosmetic patches if I choose because my house will last until I die! It is so sad that the city doesn’t work with the property owners and try to figure out how to best serve the housing stock.
I have no one that I would want to leave my house to so it can fall the day I die. Sad but those are the facts.