Real estate investors scour the market looking for properties with rock-bottom pricing and potential for sky-high returns on investment. Older, distressed buildings have discounted price tags, but converting an aging building into a modern domicile with all the bells and whistles to attract new residents is expensive.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a niche property market that offered excellent prices and robust return on investment?
One type of property that deserves a closer look is older buildings with historical significance. The National Register of Historic Places lists more than 85,000 places in the United States designated as “National Treasures”. Not all of these designees are buildings; there are cemeteries, battlefields, trails and churches among the listings.
Interested in exploring historic property as an investment? Wondering if property you own is eligible for consideration? Whether you already own an aging property or you’re considering investing in distressed property, here is some information to find out if developing a landmark property is right for you.
...
...buildings they make. Those walls hold stories that are unique and they cannot be repeated. Taking care of those buildings helps humans to preserve the lives and stories of the people who lived in them earlier.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
...struction. I really love the architecture of these buildings and wish that we had more resources to be able to preserve this piece of American history.
Fixing and flipping real estate is a great way to approach the real estate market, in spite of its nasty reputation. Approached with care, it is an easy way to make money in the business of real estate.
U.S. Department of the Interior. "Section II: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Register of Historic Places Bulletin (NRB 15)." National Parks Service. http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb15/nrb15_2.htm (accessed March 19, 2014).
Historical buildings are undeniably important to the United States and its people. The law of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, or NHPA, was enacted specifically to protect such buildings. Many citizens appreciate the value of these buildings and take strong stances for their preservation. Such citizens include those of California, which will be the state on that this paper will be focusing on. The issue at hand is who takes the side of the private owners of such buildings when their private property is at the mercy of special interest groups and judicial proceedings? Specifically, owners are at risk of holding an economically defunct asset due to the ambiguous rulings on the matter of designating buildings as historically significant. This paper proposes to rid of that ambiguity and recommends that the Constitution of California be amended to ensure that loss of economic use of real property due to historic designation constitutes a taking and requires just compensation.
A new phenomenon happening in our city is the rebirth of many of our older and rundown areas. One of the best examples of this is the "Soulard" area of town, which now has an established nightlife as well as exquisite historical antique homes. Lafayette Square has also enjoyed the same type of success as Soulard. It is still in the middle of a high crime area, but is populated by upper-class people with beautiful homes with elaborate wrought iron fences and intricate security systems. This trend of fixing up old flats is spreading out from the areas of Soulard and Lafayette Square to neighboring communities at a rapid pace. The Compton Heights area is coming back with rebuilt old Victorian styled houses and private gated streets that contrast the French styled flats of Soulard. The Shaw and Tower Grove area are also following the lead of revitalization similar to these charming old neighborhoods.
Hampton Save a Landmark campaign was created with a mission to refurbish historical landmarks. In 2008, the company ran a “Landmark Legends” survey to gain knowledge of what the people wanted
On the property there are still 4 original houses (the house, the carriage house, the dairy barn, and stone building), as well as other historical buildings that the owners bought to preserve (for example, a house that used to hold 2 adults and 9 children).
The development has repositioned the existing asset by way of a major reconfiguration of the existing 'heritage' component, the construction of an additional nine levels of premium office accommodation and the restoration of the historic Rowe Street laneway.
There is a fundamental dichotomy and tension within economic development policies in general, and specifically with historic preservation, between the need to bring in wealthy residents and new businesses and the likelihood that it will drive out or alienate low to moderate-income local residents. Historic preservation will, of course, not work for every struggling area in the nation, but for those that can use it, alone or in conjunction with other methods of economic development it is important to recognize that the only way to have truly sustainable economic development and not simply economic growth at the expense of local community and quality of life issues is to find a balance between this dichotomy and accommodate all members of a community.
The following research is based on a case study done by the Urban Land Institute. Preservation Ventures, the project’s original developers, began renovating the five Victorian homes that were already at the site in 1982. To fund this project, Preservation Ventures used the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit as a source of equity to redevelop the site's five structures. The Federal Historic Preservation Tax encourages private developers to invest in the rehabilitation of historic buildings. It provides a 20% income tax credit for income producing sites that are “historic certified structures” according to the Secretary of the Interior. By 1986, however, none of the office space had been leased even though the renovations were almost complete. Another financial problem that Preservation Venture's faced was the changes in the federal tax code and regulatory stipulations that made it difficult to secure historic preservation tax credits for rehabilitating structures that had been relocated. These issues ultimately made it clear that they wouldn’t be able to work on the remaining 11 structures. After Preservation
Staff, Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination. Virginia: Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 1973
Demand and supply forces have the major impact in the industry as they determine growth or decline in the market (Seldin & Richard 1985). Owner, renter and user are on demand side of the market that is they are consumers. Developers, financiers and renovators are suppliers (Acton et al 1999). Unlike commodities market demand and supply forces do not float easily. This is because of the uniqueness of this market. Real market industry has these unique characteristics, durability of products as buildings can last for decades or centuries. Each product (house) is unique in terms of buildings, location, and financing thus market has heterogeneous products (Acton et al 1999). Transaction costs are high and the process is usually long. Though there are mobile homes, but the land underneath is till immobile, real estate is an immovable asset (Acton et al 1999).