Great Opportunities!

There is a lot of good news for owners of historic properties like the Dayton House.  The tax credits available as a result of the historic status of these houses means that energy efficient repairs and upgrades are potentially eligible for a 20% credit (i.e. refund) on your income tax.  The amount spent must be at least five thousand dollars.  This amount may be daunting for those who don’t have the cash to put into the house to begin with.

Well, there is a new program offered by the New York State Energy Research Development Authority which may make the cash part of the idea doable for those in historic homes with good credit but not a lot of cash on hand.  It is the On-Bill Recovery Loan program which was announced this week.

Eligible homeowners can finance approved improvements with a low interest loan.  The payments are figured in as part of your monthly utility bill. The interest rate is fixed at just below three percent.  There is a processing fee of $150 and you can borrow up to 13K.  Your monthly installment is not supposed to exceed the amount of savings you will realize by making the repair or upgrade.  You can also pay the loan off early if you’d like. For details on the program, click here.

Things that would qualify for the loan would be air sealing, insulation, boilers, water heaters, air conditioners, light fixtures and some appliances.  Not all of these things would qualify for the historic tax credit but many would.  The work must be done by an Energy Star certified contractor.

One thing we had always wanted to do was put in an exhaust fan in the attic.  That would likely qualify for both the loan program and the historic tax credit.  So might gas inserts for the fireplaces.  Another nice thing about the loan is that it is transferable to the next owner.

Given that the historic tax credit is 20%, you would still come out ahead by taking out the loan – in fact, the credit basically pays for the interest!  And best of all, you’d be helping the house and the environment.