Hypothetical situation: You live in a historic property...

[Maddy McCall]

You live in the home that was the residence to a very important person in state and national politics. Since the property is now more then 50 years old, it has become eligible for nomination to the Historic Register.

I approach you and tell you that your home is worthy of National Register of Historic Places recognition, which means it will be placed on the register and you can receive tax breaks and grants to maintain the property.

However, no one will tell you what you HAVE to do--there are no governmental mandates at all, except that if you significantly alter the property (say, put aluminum siding on it)it may lose its place on the register. The property will receive special consideration in case the city decides to build a reservoir or wants to put a road through--in any case that may affect the integrity of the property.

I tell you what an honor it is, that there are only 13 properties in your county on the register. How do you react?

[Lars39]

1. I think I'd be horrified!

Can you imagine having to keep the house clean all the time in case someone just "wants a peek"? Or the headache of a candlelight tour? I think you've got to be a fussbudget to want to do upkeep on a historical house. Not for me; I like low maintenance. :)

[Maddy McCall]

3. That's a misconception.

No one will traipse through your house, and of all the people I have talked to here, no one has ever come up to a door and knocked and asked to look around.

The integrity of the house only applies to the outside. People may drive by and photograph it, but no one gets access to the inside.

Thanks for your comment! I will develop a response for that concern when I deal with the present owner.

[Lars39]

11. Whew! That's good.

I drive thru the historic distric in Franklin, TN every once in a while, and one thing I've noticed is that the privacy seems to be a little compromised when there are sidewalks, versus historic homes that are off in the boonies. Fences for the backyard just seems to be a necessity since people could literally just walk up to the house.
I love old houses. :)

[Maddy McCall]

2. OH, AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT! ESPECIALLY IF YOU SAY NO.

Please tell me why you vote no. This is a dry run for my dealings with people I will be approaching in the next week. I need to anticipate situations I will encounter and develop answers for their questions.

Also, ask me questions if you have any--about anything to do with the Register.

Thanks for helping me practice!

[Maddy McCall]

4. Kick: Please ask me some questions...

help me anticipate what I will encounter. Also, if anyone has a property on the register, please comment on it.

[Nikia]

5. My mother did

She was able to get money to renovate and restore it. That is a good deal because many old homes need a lot of work to make them livable and the grant money can help this. No one can drop in to see it anytime they want. This house was on a rather busy street and a few doors down from a cab company so it wasn't that unusual to have people walking by it anyway.

[Maddy McCall]

6. Thanks, Nikia, for your comments...

That's right...you can get grants to maintain the property. Wonderful benefit of the Historic Property Register.

:-)

[haele]

7. Can you contact some of the other registered properties...

And ask what sorts of unusual issues they've had to deal with?

Personally, I think it might be a good thing - but again, you might want to check with some of the zoning rules and county/state regulations concerning historical properties.
What you do want to check on are issues like special tax burdens or benefits (as it may be considered a "charity" or non-profit deduction), if there might be a local University or historical association that might want to keep you on some sort of retainer for research or graduate work, and especially what sort of hoops you'll have to deal with if you wanted to repair something in the house to keep the integrety of the building or do a major interior change.
Also, check to see what sort of restrictions this might put on your property for resale.

When my mother worked for UW Archeo/Anthro, one of the things she dealt with was historical properties that were put on retainer to the University; because of the property and zoning laws, UW was able to help subsidize restoration for one of the property owners in return for acheological access when needed. However - the owner had to agree to some serious restrictions - they had to have a binding contract with the university in terms of any physical work - including adding cable lines or a pool - that would be allowed on the property and specifications as to what contractual details property could be sold or bestowed.

It could either be benefit or a bust in your case - it all depends on the zoning and property laws in your local.

Good luck.

Haele

[Maddy McCall]

13. The State Historic Preservation OFficer is the authority in the state

on the matter. There are no special zoning regulations in the town applying to historic preservations.

It will NOT become a charity because it gets grants or tax breaks. No restrictions for resale.

The contract between the uni and the property owner had nothing to do with the Historic Register--a project of the National Parks Service. If property owners entered into a covenant with the university, it was done outside the Historic Register. Sounds like the restrictions that the property owners had to deal with were created by the university, because those restrictions are not NPS originated.

Thanks for your comments! :-)

[Lady President]

8. My grandmother's house was registered

My grandmother's house was on the National Register and we thought it was a honor. Actually, she was approached in a very similar manner to your hypothetical. Her house was considered a classic Western Reserve style and someone from the Western Reserve Historical Society took care of all the paperwork, etc. No changes had to be made to the house at all and they put a small "L" (for Landmark) plaque on the front. She had already furnished it with period antiques and chose to open it to guests a few days a year during the holidays, but that wasn't a requirement.

I'm probably the last person who should comment on this because I love older homes and can't see anything negative. :)

[Maddy McCall]

10. How nice for your grandmother!

The house I am looking at nominating is Victorian in architecture and also was home to a very significant historical figure.

Any way you look at it, it is a win-win situation. :-)

[Character Assassin]

9. What's the damn thing worth, and why is it 'historical'?

Without those two tidbits of info, I'm inclined to tell the person from the gov't to leave.

[Maddy McCall]

12. Your can get grants to maintain your property if you choose to apply,

you get a tax break for having a historical property, and your property is historical because it was home to a very significant property, or it is one of the few surviving examples of period architecture.

[BiggJawn]

17. Since when???

I thought I was going to be able to get grants to finish restore at LEAST the exterior of my palace. Boy, did i get my eyes opened. In 1996, there was NO "free money" available for private residences that were gonna stay private. If I were to put a business in the house (prohibited by the terms of my mortgage anyway) then there was grant money. Otherwise, go buy your own paint.

[Maddy McCall]

20. I know a woman whose home is on the register...

the gingerbread molding on her home had deteriorated, and she was able to get FEDERAL assistance to replace the molding.

Also, you can apply for low interest loans that only Historic Register property owners are eligible for.

To whom did you apply for your grant? Through which agency?

[BiggJawn]

21. Apply?

I was told by the Historic Preservation Officer how the the program worked, because I really wanted some extra help to finish the outside the way I wanted to.

Look, I'm not calling you a liar, but you "know a woman" who says she got help. I TRIED to get help and found none.

[Maddy McCall]

26. You said you tried n 1996...

did you apply for any of the subsequent years? The money is limited, and those who apply first get it. Perhaps in one of the subsequent fiscal years your application would have been approved.

If you only go into historic preservation to get money, then you are in it for the wrong reason anyway.

[Maddy McCall]

14. Thanks everyone...

I think I can do this...I am just afraid to approach the people, but since you guys overwhelmingly voted to place your property on the register, I think I can be more optimitic about their response.

Thanks! :loveya: DUers!

[eyesroll]

15. I live in a historic district

There are about 100 homes in the district, though, and not 13. As such, we are not even allowed to alter the exterior without permission (a re-roof or a same-color paint job will probably get a rubber stamp; an addition, siding change,deck, etc. will get more scrutiny). But we can get tax breaks and certain exemptions from code (for example, if we remodel, we don't need to bring the stair height/rise/etc. up to code, since it'll mess up the historical integrity of the building).

One thing you may want to be aware of -- Historic protection isn't a cure-all. Carroll College wants to tear down three homes in our district to put in an ugly, 96-bed apartment-style dorm. The city likes this idea. The landmarks commission shot it down. The city council will probably override. Unfortunately, the Historic designation isn't necessarily legally binding.

But since your property is a one-shot, rather than a district, you might have better luck.

[Maddy McCall]

19. As I responded to BigJawn, those are CITY ordinances, not Federal ones

The city can place whatever regulations it wants to on properties inside its city limits.

The federal register and the National Historic Preservation Act section 106 requires that in any project undertaken or funded by a federal agency, the property MUST receive consideration and adverse effects must be mitigated to affect the property in the least possible way.

There is no "landmarks commission" in the federal government. Evidently you are talking about another matter altogether, and that is a project NOT funded or undertaken by the city, thus outside the protection of NHPA and section 106.

[eyesroll]

31. Perhaps I misunderstood you, then...

My neighborhood is listed in the Nat'l Register of Historic Places, as well as in the Wisconsin equivalent. It's the state that sets guidelines for improvements to historical properties, but it's up to the city to enforce them. (So, yes, it's not a federal thing.)

The project in question is being undertaken by a small private college, but due to state and city regulations, they need to go to the Landmarks Commission (a city agency) to get permission. If Landmarks turn them down, the City Council can override. (The project is also subject to Plan Commission and Zoning Board rules, but that applies to every construction project in the city.) If the City Council overrides, the neighborhood can try to sue the city for breaking the state historical-preservation act, but I don't know how successful that would be.And, yeah, there isn't jack we can do about it at a federal/NHPA level.

So, I guess, the college wanting to bulldoze three homes falls outside of the Federal law, so this wouldn't apply to your situation.

To answer your question, though, I would go for it! (I see you and the homeowner decided to.) That's one of the things that drew us into the neighborhood in the first place -- historical character.

Edit: Pronouns

[BiggJawn]

16. I lived in a Historic District. Being on the registry doesn't do Scheiss..

The "tax breaks and Grants" apply ONLY if you use the property for a commercial venture, like a B n'B or "The General Fuzzychin Hornswoggle Museum".

The "Special consideration" you receive from the City ammounts to a "Gee, sucks about losing this piece of history. We're gonna declare Emminent Domain and hopefully have it bulldozed before the busybodies can get their 'Victorian Grapevine' operating..."

If the house is eligible for the Historic Register, there is most likely some kind of "Historic district" or "Preservation Commission" in the city, or at least a neighbourhood association who will dog you everytime you so much as put a paint roller to the place.

But to get back to your original question: If the owner is like I was in my "Historic Victorian House", he's probably got his hands full keeping the mortgage serviced and the place warm.The last thing he needs is some busybody telling him he simply MUST take on more responsibility.

Do him a favour and leave him alone.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Maddy McCall]

25. Your problems evidently have nothing to do with the Register.

If you were having financial difficulties, you shouldn't have expected the Register to bail you out.

No need to take your anger out on me. I hope things get better for you....I truly do.

But you can't blame the Register for your problems.

And, by the way, I spoke to my "intended victim" earlier, so you can now term her a "willing victim" because she was DELIGHTED to have the home listed, and we begin the procedure tomorrow.

She won't be running me away--she actually thanked me--did not know that the historical figure had lived in her house for most their life.

Sorry that your ill wishes toward me won't come true. ;-)

[kodi]

23. i would tell you to get the hell off my property

posterity? one is doing this for posterity?

i found an indian arrowhead in my back woods 3 years ago, can i register my land for status as a national park?

[Maddy McCall]

24. Ignorance truly is bliss...

people who are ignorant of the Register are the ones who are most hostile to it.

IF you only found one projectile point, it isn't significant at all.

If you found a site, then you could have it listed as a National Register site. What does that have to do with national parks?

[Sting]

27. Hell no!

The government won't tell me what to do w/ my life and house!

[Maddy McCall]

28. Again, ignorance truly is bliss.

The gubment ain't gonna tell you what you can do to yer property.

If you want on the register, you only have to maintain the integrity of the property.

The only people I know in my area who have turned down being listed on the National Register are those who are uneducated and ill-informed.

[philosophie_en_rose]

29. It's up to the owner, I think.

I dislike the idea of old homes being trampled for Walmarts, but I think a family should create a comfortable home. Even if comfort means more modern designs.

It's really a matter of choice and I think that it almost always is a choice. Since it's elective, I don't think that the idea of the register is negative.

I think that the owner should consider whether or not he or she truly desires the home. If there is someone else that honors the tradition of the house, perhaps the owner should sell. If she or he doesn't value the home for its historical worth, then it would be a nice gesture to sell it to someone that does.

If the home owner is undecided, I would try to maintain the house as closely to the statutes as possible and then apply for a protected status if developers or the government threatened the home. The government may limit the type remodeling that occurs, but it's better than having the government build a highway through it. Especially in an era where it's likely to be the "Ronald Reagan War Hero Memorial Freedomway."

[Kathy in Cambridge]

30. I am totally for Historic Preservation

I live in a very old city (Cambridge, MA) and many people here have received federal funds to help maintain their properties. Having these regulations has preserved houses and building where founding fathers slept, abolitionists lectured and runaway slaves stopped on the underground railroad.

I think those on this thread that are the naysayers may have a different aesthetic and sense of history than you, Jill. Not only that, in many ways it's selfish to deny future generations the enjoyment and sense of history that maintaining these properties could bring.

It's peculiarly American to think a new house is better than a structure with history. Let these people enjoy their strip malls and carbon-copy McMansions. I'll take Cambridge anyday.