BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 14, 2019
What happens when you try to sell a property and a 3rd party throws a wrench into the process at the last minute? That’s what happened to a couple in Florida that had a contract to sell their house (and adjacent lots) for a new development but a neighbor put in an application to have their home designated as a historic property. According to the Wall Street Journal article (as reposted by Realtor.com), everything then “stopped in its tracks.” Indeed….
“Third-party historic designation is among the most contentious tools that historic preservationists have at their disposal. It pits homeowners against local preservation enthusiasts, and some who the owners suspect have motives unrelated to historic preservation.”
“Local historic districts date to the 1930s, when states and communities gave local towns the right to create historic areas and to establish rules on what could be done to structures inside the district, or to buildings deemed historic on their own. Those rules vary widely but generally govern changes to the exterior of a home viewable from a public way.”
WSJ.com