A year ago, the house on Claudia Street had several holes in the shingled roof, a sagging foundation and it had been boarded up, its only residents a committee of vultures.
Today, it’s on the market for just under $1 million.
Because the owners applied for a city program meant to encourage the rehabilitation of homes in major disrepair, the buyers will get a break on their city taxes for the next 10 years while living in a fully restored 1900 house in the historic King William neighborhood.
The house is one of 469 properties belonging to homeowners in San Antonio who have fixed up a designated local landmark or property within a local historic district and taken advantage of tax savings in the bargain.
The City of San Antonio first introduced the substantial rehab tax incentive program in 2002. The program gives homeowners the chance to freeze their city property taxes at the value assessed pre-rehab.
No city taxes are owed for the first five years after the remodel is inspected and approved, and taxes are assessed at half the post-rehab appraisal after the fifth year for up to 10 years.
The Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), which processes the applications, estimates the average participating homeowner saves $4,800 in city property taxes. OHP has verified properties in 13 different zip codes across the city, according to data provided by the department that dates to 2014.
The tax exemption stays with the property if it’s sold or changes hands, a change that was put in place about 10 years into the program.
For more information and the steps to apply, click here.
“It’s really a nice way to help reward a property owner for making that investment and being a good steward of our historic properties,” said Shanon Shea Miller, director of the Office of Historic Preservation. “We always want more and more people to take advantage of it.”
The process to apply is not difficult, she said, though some property owners might not pursue the incentive because they perceive it as a hassle. It’s a matter of doing the work properly and obtaining the necessary permits and approvals through OHP, Miller added.
Worth the effort
Real estate investor Elaine Lutton, who has remodeled 50 historic homes in the last 20 years, said the process was “a little time-consuming” the first time she applied in 2017.
But it was worth it, she added. Lutton is now restoring an early 20th-century house in Monte Vista, doing much of the work herself.
To qualify for the incentive, a rehab must be substantial, with the estimated cost of improvements reaching 30% of the assessed value. Qualifying work includes repairs to the home’s foundation, roof and siding and improvements to electrical, plumbing and heating and air conditioning systems. It could also include structural repairs and interior upgrades.
Hoda Cummings said the incentive helped with the significant cost of bringing the house at 237 Claudia St. back into a habitable condition.
“It was a mess,” she said, who with her husband Scott Cummings bought the dilapidated house near their own in 2023 with plans to restore and sell it.
“I feel like it has to go to somebody to enjoy, someone to live in it and continue to maintain it and improve on it and just kind of make it their home,” she said.
At the time of the purchase, the house was appraised at $325,000, according to tax records. Cummings declined to give the purchase price.
But because the rehab project was so massive — requiring a new roof, electrical and plumbing systems and foundation repair — the couple did some of the interior finish work themselves and began looking for other ways to save.
Even finding small savings, such as through the city’s incentive program, leaves some money for what Cummings called the “jewelry” of the house, such as high-end kitchen counters and appliances.
The couple finished the renovation in January.
Though the tax incentive doesn’t come into effect until the project is finished, and they plan to sell the house, Cummings said it was worth the effort to ask for it. They’ll get the tax break for the period they own the house, however long it stays on the market.
Besides, she said, “you can advertise, ‘Look, your city taxes will be significantly lower. So it’s a good selling point.”
