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November 4, 2005
refining the plan
1000 years ago when we first started this, we really had no idea of what we were getting into. We know a little bit more now and have adjusted the plan.
One factor is that we have less than one year left of the original 3-year window to qualify for the city tax abatement program (wherein our house is taxed at the pre-renovation value for the next 15 years)(thus saving us bundles!). We are still working on the down stairs, though, so we need to either dramatically pickup the pace, or reevaluate what we can do over the next 9 months or so. With this deadline looming, we know that we won't be able to do the same depth of renovation upstairs at this time as we have downstairs.
Our original, off-the-cuff plan has been to live upstairs while renovating downstairs and then switch. As we've lived in the house for 2+ years now and are somehow starting to feel cramped just living on one floor, we've decided to approach the upstairs on a room-by-room basis once we actually get to the upstairs. This means that we could be living in these same "temporary" rooms for the next 2 years or more. With this realization, we've decided to give everything a good surface makeover to get rid of some of the lingering abandonded rental property miasma. This will buy us time and let us get the house to a more finished-looking state in time for whatever inspections and assessments that we'll have to go through next year.
There will be some minor molding repair, a ton of patching plaster, and painting everything. We'll also get to install a sink that we bought back in 2003 and a handrail in the still deadly hallway. Some of this is work that will be undone when we get to working upstairs, but it is stuff that will make it easier to get to that point. It'll be neat to have smaller projects on the list...
Posted by john m at November 4, 2005 5:37 PM
Comments
I have been following your website ever since we moved to Hoodstoric W. Marshall St. in Jackson Ward about two years ago. Moving from the suburbs was the best decision we ever made. I was just thinking the other day that you should be coming up on that three year deadline. The abatement program is a huge savings and really pays when property values rise, as they have in a ridiculous and unreasonable way in our neighborhood. Your hard work will be well worth the savings. Even if you have to hire someone to do the work, the future tax savings will return your investment. We have ten years left, but we wish that it would last forever.
Posted by: Lori at November 7, 2005 7:33 PM
Lori - I love Jackson Ward! I keep meaning to come do a photo series over there.
We've caught the property value upswing here, too, with plenty left to go I think... Assessed values rose 200+% on a lot of blocks here last year, with real market values having close to doubled in our stay here. There are still plenty of renovations and potential renovations left that would solidify all of this, and I can only imagine what would happen if the projects ever come down... I'm looking forward to seeing how all of this shakes out.
Posted by: john at November 7, 2005 8:44 PM
With Gilpin Ct.'s extremely high murder rate so close to my neighborhood, I am also watching the debates about the future of housing projects in Richmond. We will see.....
Posted by: Lori at November 8, 2005 6:08 PM
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