Here is my latest blog. http://donnaschmitt4citycouncil.com
ENJOY!
Donna Schmitt
Candidate for Columbia Heights City Council
For a couple of years the City of Columbia Heights has been purchasing older homes, paying to have them demolished, and then sitting on the vacant property in anticipation of selling that property when values have gone back up. Many times the cost for these purchases and demolition ends up costing the city around $50,000 to $60,000. The idea is to remove from sales homes that are hazardous to live in.
The concept is commendable but maybe it is not necessarily the best one. Some of the problems are: 1) You have now eliminated that property from the tax rolls so less income for the city. 2) Now this property is becoming a debt to the city because it has to be maintained on a seasonal basis. 3) These properties that have been taken off the tax rolls mean the rest of us will have our property taxes go up because the city's budget has not decreased.
I proposed another plan at the city council meeting on Monday night. Why not take that $50,000 to $60,000 and offer a $10,000 to $20,000 grant to a purchaser to rehab that home. That way you keep the home on the tax rolls, the home is fixed up to current code and it helps the neighbors by upgrading the home's value. By offering up to a $20,000 grant you take that same $50-$60 thousand dollars and have fixed up 3-6 homes rather than torn down a single home. You also are allowing a family a way to purchase an affordable home and yet providing a way to make sure it is a 'safe' home.
There could be several stipulations on that grant. You could make sure that the rehab is done in a timely manner. One way to do this is to decrease the grant if the rehab is not completed within 4-6 months. You can also offer a larger incentive if this is an owner rehab vs. a property flip. But I would also recommend a smaller grant, possibly $10,000 offered to someone that rehabs a home and sells it to someone else just because it still is accomplishing the same purpose, refurbishing homes and making the safe for families. This also could be offered to groups such as Habitat to help them with projects in the city.
With a $10,000 to $20,000 grant the purchaser could even pay to have that home demolished and build a new home on that property. But the difference is that all of this is done while still providing property tax income to the city and eliminates the need for the city to maintain that property over the years.
For anyone that has watched DIY, HGTV or faithfully watched 'This Old House' over the years you know that anything can be rehabbed. To say that a house is not fixable is not being realistic. Can anyone fix up a home? No! Are there times you need to call in an expert? Yes! With this type of grant you are providing more incentive for the purchaser to get it done quickly and getting that home back into a livable condition, and keeping it on the tax rolls. It is a win-win situation for the city and for the purchaser.
There are other home improvement programs offered but all of these have limited funds and are usually grabbed up quickly. This would be a great idea to sell to realtors and get them to help market this idea in our city. This would be just another incentive and would work especially for those homes that are in foreclosure.
This is the time for the city to re-evaluate it's demolition goals. The City of Columbia Heights has set aside funds for demolition over the next couple of years. We need to make sure that we are getting the best value for our dollar and a home improvement incentive grant could be what we need to improve our home values rather than what is currently in place.
ENJOY!
Donna Schmitt
Candidate for Columbia Heights City Council
For a couple of years the City of Columbia Heights has been purchasing older homes, paying to have them demolished, and then sitting on the vacant property in anticipation of selling that property when values have gone back up. Many times the cost for these purchases and demolition ends up costing the city around $50,000 to $60,000. The idea is to remove from sales homes that are hazardous to live in.
The concept is commendable but maybe it is not necessarily the best one. Some of the problems are: 1) You have now eliminated that property from the tax rolls so less income for the city. 2) Now this property is becoming a debt to the city because it has to be maintained on a seasonal basis. 3) These properties that have been taken off the tax rolls mean the rest of us will have our property taxes go up because the city's budget has not decreased.
I proposed another plan at the city council meeting on Monday night. Why not take that $50,000 to $60,000 and offer a $10,000 to $20,000 grant to a purchaser to rehab that home. That way you keep the home on the tax rolls, the home is fixed up to current code and it helps the neighbors by upgrading the home's value. By offering up to a $20,000 grant you take that same $50-$60 thousand dollars and have fixed up 3-6 homes rather than torn down a single home. You also are allowing a family a way to purchase an affordable home and yet providing a way to make sure it is a 'safe' home.
There could be several stipulations on that grant. You could make sure that the rehab is done in a timely manner. One way to do this is to decrease the grant if the rehab is not completed within 4-6 months. You can also offer a larger incentive if this is an owner rehab vs. a property flip. But I would also recommend a smaller grant, possibly $10,000 offered to someone that rehabs a home and sells it to someone else just because it still is accomplishing the same purpose, refurbishing homes and making the safe for families. This also could be offered to groups such as Habitat to help them with projects in the city.
With a $10,000 to $20,000 grant the purchaser could even pay to have that home demolished and build a new home on that property. But the difference is that all of this is done while still providing property tax income to the city and eliminates the need for the city to maintain that property over the years.
For anyone that has watched DIY, HGTV or faithfully watched 'This Old House' over the years you know that anything can be rehabbed. To say that a house is not fixable is not being realistic. Can anyone fix up a home? No! Are there times you need to call in an expert? Yes! With this type of grant you are providing more incentive for the purchaser to get it done quickly and getting that home back into a livable condition, and keeping it on the tax rolls. It is a win-win situation for the city and for the purchaser.
There are other home improvement programs offered but all of these have limited funds and are usually grabbed up quickly. This would be a great idea to sell to realtors and get them to help market this idea in our city. This would be just another incentive and would work especially for those homes that are in foreclosure.
This is the time for the city to re-evaluate it's demolition goals. The City of Columbia Heights has set aside funds for demolition over the next couple of years. We need to make sure that we are getting the best value for our dollar and a home improvement incentive grant could be what we need to improve our home values rather than what is currently in place.
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