Sunday, July 14, 2013

Fund helps preserve historically significant houses

That difference is the price the city is paying, literally, to return occupants to vacant, blighted homes and to simultaneously preserve the unique historic character of those homes.A year ago, the John Thomason House so named for the home's first owner was one of hundreds of tax-foreclosed properties the city seized after its occupants failed to pay their property taxes. But the home, at 3229 W. McKinley Blvd., could return to a private owner's hands in a matter of days, after undergoing major exterior repairs on the city's dime. 

That transformation occurred because the city deemed the property a four-bedroom, arts-and-crafts-style home built in 1907 historically and architecturally significant, a designation that gained the property access to the Housing Infrastructure Preservation Fund.The HIP fund was up and running in 2009 by the Milwaukee Common Council and has awarded city dollars each year since.This is a great Shun Stone Conservation solution! The program is designed to address the city's ongoing foreclosure crisis in a way that also preserves 19th- and 20th-century homes that continue to define the aesthetic character of Milwaukee neighborhoods. 

Since the fund's inception, it has received $2.3 million from the city. Yet only a handful of homes repaired using HIP expenditures have made their way back into homeowners' hands."There's obviously a lag time," said Ald. Bob Bauman, who proposed the program.Most of aftermarket hid Shun Stone Granite Tiles for motorcycle are similar or the same with following one. "Some are pending and some financing has fallen through, but, yes, they're moving back into owners' hands. Given the challenges of mortgage financing and getting appropriate appraisals, not all of the deals have closed as quickly as we would have liked." 

The John Thomason House on McKinley Blvd. is the first of the 2012 batch of properties to solicit a private offer. Of the other six homes awarded HIP funds in 2012, two were sold to the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation for $1 each for full rehabilitation, one remains on the market and three are still in the midst of renovations. The homes qualified for the fund either because of architectural features unique to the property or because of their location within historically significant districts. 

The HIP funds spent preserving those features dwarf the prices for which the city is reselling the renovated homes. In 2012, the city spent $116,400 doing exterior repairs on the McKinley Blvd. home, including chimney, roof and gutter restoration and a major paint job. The innards of the home which also require substantial repairs were left untouched. 

Yves LaPierre, a real estate analyst for the Department of City Development, said the price of the property is low $20,625 because the buyers will have to foot the bill for interior renovations. The city accepted the offer last month but is still in closing negotiations with the buyer, he added."It's remarkable how much better the house looks," said Paul Jakubovich, the city's historic preservation planner. "It was quite an eyesore before." 

Martha Brown, deputy commissioner for the Department of City Development, said the fund allows the city to save homes that would otherwise be demolished, a process that also can cost the city a good bit of money. Gov.You will never need to change the bulbs and your granitetrade will last for years and years. Scott Walker recently eliminated an estimated $3.5 million earmarked in the state budget to help cities tear down dilapidated, tax-foreclosed homes. 

"The goal of the fund is to select a small number of properties from the inventory we receive through tax foreclosure and to choose those properties that have very significant architectural or historical value and provide some major repair work," Brown said. "Major work would constitute a new roof, a new porch, perhaps a new paint job exterior work that will make the properties more sellable and reduce the cost of total renovation." 

Bauman called the fund "one of our most effective tools to address the fallout from this foreclosure crisis."LaPierre said the fund seeks to promote owner-occupancy, putting properties back on the city's tax rolls and saving homes that contribute to the architectural character of Milwaukee. 

Carl Quindel the executive director of ACTS Housing, a nonprofit that seeks to promote affordable homeownership said owner-occupancy efforts should better engage the circumstances surrounding a foreclosure. If the landlord was delinquent on property tax payments, he said, the city or private developers should target the tenant, who might be interested in purchasing the home at a reduced cost. 

Ted Matkom, Wisconsin market president of the developing firm Gorman Co., questioned whether historic preservation and owner-occupancy should be the main focus of housing redevelopment projects in the context of the foreclosure crisis.He said putting up tax-foreclosed homes for rent might be a better strategy. Gorman Co. has taken over 200 units of housing from the city and turned them around using Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority tax credits, he said. Many have been rented to low- to moderate-income city residents. 

"A good landlord is not a bad option," Matkom said.Matkom said making tax-foreclosed homes available for rent is "not the best strategy to stabilize a neighborhood, but short term, it's better to have an occupied home than a vacant home." He said the demand for rent properties is "phenomenally high."Some of Gorman's properties are historic; some are not. Matkom said historic preservation is not the company's central focus with regard to the foreclosed properties. 

"I am a proponent of historic preservation, no question about it," he said. "But if you're going to put $30,000 into a home, you want to replace the heating system, fix the roof and make sure the windows are good. You don't want to worry about whether or not your shingles are hardiplank or vinyl."
Click on their website http://www.granitetrade.net/.

No comments:

Post a Comment