This article was published on: 03/01/2003
 
WEB REVIEW: SPECIALTIES

Save the past
Historic Preservation Paves Way for Profits

Protecting historic properties makes your community more beautiful and more salable.

BY CHRIS LEPORINI

Preserving historic properties can maintain your community’s character and help your pocket book as well. Well-preserved older homes can open up a niche market for your business or simply function as a unique selling point for your community. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit group, can help you research historic preservation issues, learn more about buying and selling historic properties, and find local organizations in your area to become active in preservation work. The group’s Web site also provides links to Preservation Online, the online version of the organization’s bi-monthly magazine.

The “Historic Homeowner” section features advice on buying and selling historic properties, including bi-monthly classified listings from Preservation magazine. It also provides information on the Historic Real Estate program, a partnership between ERA Franchises, Inc, and the National Trust that teaches real estate professionals about American architectural styles, conservation easements, and historic preservation regulations and tax incentives. You can also find advice on rehabilitating these properties, such as how to select a builder and secure special financing.

The site’s also useful in helping buyers decide if an older building is worth preserving. Remember, historic buildings add character to a neighborhood, but not every old building is historic. The site suggests tackling this question by suggesting three basic criteria for identifying properties for preservation efforts: aesthetic, practical, or historically significant. Some buildings are worth saving because their style or materials add character or beauty to their surroundings. In other cases, developers might be able to adapt buildings to new uses, such as converting mills into shopping centers or transforming office buildings into apartment units. Finally, some properties are worth preserving because they provide a link to the past, whether it’s Mt. Vernon or your town’s old-fashioned movie theatre.

Click on the “Get Involved” section to learn how you can get help preserve historic properties either locally or national. There you can find information on becoming a member or making a donation to the organization. Also, you can register to join it free “Preservation E-Advocate List” to receive bulletins and newsletters, such as the “Preservation Advocate News,” which updates readers on developments at all levels of government. Additional news, updated several times a month, is available on the site’s main page. If you are looking for preservation efforts a little closer to home, consult the organization’s list of state-by-state contact information for local groups in your area. You can find additional resources on improving your neighborhood in the "Community Building" section, including information on the National Trust's Main Street Center, which honors communities who revitalized their historic commercial districts

Several resources demonstrate how other communities are dealing with preservation-related issues. For instance, the “Preservation Case Studies Database,” contains profiles on preservation success stories and endangered communities. Each profile contains a short, typically three paragraph, overview of community and threats to its historical property, as well as how activists are working to preserve the area. On a similar note, you can find the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list of the “11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” which attempts to raise awareness about historic areas nationwide that are on the brink of disappearing. Meanwhile, the “Issues and Initiatives” section collects information, advice, and links on topics such as smart growth, preserving historic schools, and chain drugstores’ negative effects on communities.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation gives you resources to keep the past alive and make a contribution for future generations. When you preserve historic properties, you’re not just saving a building or a plot of land, you’re protecting part of your community’s character and giving buyers a reason to want to live there. And for a real estate professional, that’s just good business.

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Suggest a Site For Review
Every week, REALTOR® Magazine Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites useful to your business and off-hours lives. Have a favorite real estate Web site that you would like to see reviewed? Send your suggestions to Chris Leporini at mediatech@realtors.org. All decisions on which sites will be reviewed are completely at the discretion of REALTOR® Magazine Online's editorial staff. Please note: this column does not review individual practitioner or brokerage sites.

The column's focus includes free sites, as well as sites that charge for goods and services, but which still offer a free component of practical, sustained value to real estate practitioners, such as a free newsletter or regular news information.

More Articles:
Architecture Index
Web Review: Old House Web, Chris Leporini, October 2001.
Web Review: AntiqueRealEstate.com, Chris Leporini, May 2001.

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REALTOR® Magazine Online's "Web Review" summarizes the content of Web sites that may be of interest to members. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for, and nothing in the Web site profile shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of, the web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in this profile was correct and accurate as of the time it was prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web site. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web site prior to any use of Web site, its content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the member's intended purpose.

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