If you live in the city of Cincinnati and are considering renovating your home there is good news for you. The City of Cincinnati Department of Community Development has implemented both a residential and commercial tax abatement program to help attract new residents, businesses, and investors and encourage current residents, businesses, investors to improve their current properties. Any property owner may be eligible for this property tax abatement if they purchase a newly constructed home or are renovating their current home. Residential is defined as a single family home or any building with 1-3 units. With this tax abatement program, the commercial category is defined as residential multi-family property containing more than 4 units, office, retail, industrial, or mixed use.

Who Qualifies for the Residential Tax Abatement?

The way this program works is that certain types of improvements that actually add value to the home will qualify, while others will not. Part of the application process helps to determine if the improvements that you are making to the home are simply improving the condition of the home versus actually adding value. Painting your home, replacing your roof, new siding, new windows, new gutters, improved landscaping, a retaining wall, or resealing a driveway will all improve the condition and salability of your home but do not add dollar value. While adding a pool, deck, patio, or more usable square footage or living space to the home will add dollar value to your property and will qualify for the tax abatement. LEED- certified remodeled or newly constructed residential property is eligible for an additional tax exemption based on the certification level. Please click here for more information on LEED homes. The period for tax abatement begins with the date of documented completion of work.

Tax Abatement Limits

For example, if the owner of a $75,000 home makes $25,000 in improvements, the owner is only responsible for taxes based on the home’s original value for a period of ten years. So that would mean that the property owner’s taxes would remain at the assessed value of the $75,000 price but the house would actually be worth $100,000 if the owner were to have the home re-appraised. The portion of the tax by which the remodeling increased the value of the structure may be abated up to a maximum $275,000 market value.

Total Investment Eligible for Exemption (fair market value): $275,000
Assessed Value/Taxable Value is 35% of fair market value: $96,250
Assessed Value Multiplied by Tax Rate (.05694): $5,480.48
10% Rollback: $548.05
Estimated tax abated for one year: $4,932.43

For an application for the Residential CRA Tax Abatement Program, please click here.

The Cincinnati Public Library Downtown Main Library location has recently undergone a major renovation. The library is continually trying to meet the advancing technological and research needs of the public in all age groups. Under the new plan, resources previously divided among five Main Library subject departments were drawn together into the Information and Reference Department. The Popular Library was created by merging the Fiction and Films and Recordings Departments and the Atrium Collection.

An area that was greatly enhanced was the Teen and Student Department. Parents will be happy to know that there is now a program called “Homework Central” which supports the educational needs of Hamilton County primary and secondary students by providing homework assistance in person, by telephone, and via the Internet. There is also an area called “TeenSpot” which features a high-interest collection of teen print and audiovisual material, the latest technology, and an inviting and comfortably furnished floor plan that supports a wide variety of group and independent activities.

The other two areas that were improved with this renovation are the research level resources and services in local history and culture, river history, African American history, and genealogy are provided by the Genealogy and Local History Department, as well as the TechCenter which offers access to a broad spectrum of technological applications.

In reading a posting on Building Cincinnati.com, I learned about a home that is being built on the same site
as Homerama 2007. This home is being constructed to be LEED “silver certified” by The U.S. Green Building Council. It inspired me to think about how many people are now trying to be more environmentally friendly by driving hybrids, recycling, and using recycled products. The “green” revolution is a sign of the times that people are becoming more aware of how the conveniences of their everyday lives are affecting the environment and their health.

This demand is driving corporations to dedicate resources to producing “green products” for consumer use. While this new concept home in Montgomery is unique, many people are not looking to build a new home right now, but are curious about what measures they can take in their current home to make it more
eco-friendly or “green”.

The Green Guide has
many articles discussing home renovation and other ideas about what types of materials are being used mainstream.

Deciding whether it is financially feasible for you to incorporate some green measures into your home is something that you can research on your own or you can contact a professional to provide an evaluation of your home. This issue was raised by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and was reported by CNN as
well.

The Today Show had a very neat feature called Sell Your House In 30 Days with Barbara Corcoran. You should go and watch the video as it is informative and really give a few basic no nonsense tips on getting your home prepared to sell quickly. There are two main aspects to selling a home quickly; first make it desirable, and second price it properly.
1. Clean your house top to bottom and then remove a substantial amount of your ’stuff’. Think of making your home look like a model home - with closets that are mostly empty and minimal furniture that shows off the space you have to offer.
2. Research your competition and work with your real estate agent to price it appropriately to sell. Homes sit on the market for ages in part because they are not priced right. Market price and the price you want may not always be identical. Talk with your sales agent and make sure they have a good understanding of the realities of the market.

I know that we all struggle with the same question - what repairs or upgrades should I do before I sell my home? We wonder if we are going to get the money back in a higher sale price, or with it help get my home sold before my next mortgage payment is due. Home and Garden TV shows give tons of great ideas on how to inexpensively update the feel of key rooms in your home, you just have to be willing to spend a little bit of money to make a lot of money.

Homegain,com has a Sales Maximizer that give you insight on the best investments you can make in your home before you sell it. Cleaning and de-cluttering a house is listed as the most cost effective investment you can make!A good Cincinnati Real Estate Agent can help you though the process of getting your home ready to sell for top dollar. An absolute must read is this Home Sale Maximizer Guide. Coming soon we will have a list of contractors we have worked with and would recommend so check back often!