| Tax Savings Can Help Pay For Seismic and Solar Upgrades | November 18th, 2008 |
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Proposition N will increase the real property transfer tax rate to 1.5 percent for the sale of real estate selling for $5 million or more, and extend the transfer tax to real estate lease of 35 years or more. This part of the proposition is mostly aimed at sales of large commercial pieces of real estate, although it will also affect the upper-end luxury housing market. More significantly to Sellers of SF residential property, Proposition N will reduce the transfer tax for your property by up to 1/3 if you have installed a solar system or made improvements ot increase earthquake safety. On a $1M sale, this would equal a savings of $2,266.00. On a $5M sale (investment property owners, take note!), this could equal a $25,000 savings! It’s unlikely that for a small property owner these savings would pay for an entire solar system, but they could cover some simple seismic upgrades. If San Francisco follows Berkeley’s lead about which upgrades qualify (Berkeley has incentivized owners to retrofit since 1992), then credit will be given for foundation repair or replacement, mudsill repair or replacement, wall bracing in basements, foundation-to-mudsill bolting, shear wall installation, water heater anchoring, and securing of chimneys. If you are planning on doing any of the above listed work, keep your receipts and check about getting permits. The City may not allow simple handyman jobs to qualify without proper documentation. Leave a Reply |
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Two real estate related propositions passed this month. Proposition M set up new categories and descriptions of tenant harassment by landlords, and clarified what harrassment meant with 