Guide to Completing the Certificate of Rehabilitation Application

SUMMARY
This guide is intended to explain the Application for the Property Tax Assessment Freeze Program.  IHPA requires certain information in order to correctly evaluate your project, but they will not simply reject your Application if it isn’t filled out appropriately.  If you have any questions as you fill out the form, feel free to contact staff at the IHPA at 217-785-5042.  The Application is available for download as a Microsoft Word document and an Adobe Acrobat document.  You may fill out the Application on your computer then print it out, or you can print it out and fill it out by hand or with a typewriter.  Either way, hardcopy versions of the Application and of all other requested documentation (see below) must be mailed to IHPA.  Digital submissions (i.e., burned to a disk) cannot be accepted at this time.   Each of the items below corresponds to a numbered section within each of the three parts of the Application. 

PART 1
This first part of the Application should be completed for properties located within National Register Historic Districts and for properties located within local historic districts within a community that has an approved local preservation ordinance.  Owners of individually designated properties do not need to fill out this Part 1, as these buildings are already considered to be historic for the purposes of this program.  If your property is individually listed on the National Register or is an individual local landmark, skip Part 1.

• Name of property:  If the property has a historic name, include it here (for example, “The Colonel Thompson House” or “The Miller Warehouse”).  This section also asks for the property’s mailing address and the name of the historic district within which the property is located.  To determine the status of your property or the name of the historic district, contact Mike Ward at IHPA (217-785-5042) or your local Historic Preservation Commission.  For a current list of communities with ordinances approved for the tax freeze program, see #2 under “Provisions” on our website at http://www.illinoishistory.gov/PS/taxfreeze.htm.

• Property owner:  List the current owner of the property and his or her address, if different from the property.  Please include a daytime phone number. 

• Statement of significance:  This statement should briefly describe how your home contributes to the significance of the historic district.  In the space provided or on an attached sheet, compare it to other properties in the neighborhood in terms of age, architectural style, building materials, and/or setting.  Mention if the property has special significance to the district (i.e., an association with significant historical figures, a notable example of an architectural style, the site of a significant historical event).  This statement does not need to be lengthy; in fact, often a few paragraphs are sufficient.

• Photographs:  Photographs for the Part 1 should communicate the property’s character, i.e., clear images of the front and sides of the building.  Label the back of each photo with the property’s address and a brief description of what is shown (i.e., “Colonel Thompson House, 503 W. Main, north elevation”).  Please note that the Part 2 will require more detailed and complete photographs of both the inside and outside of the property. 

• Signature:  Your signature certifies that the information in the Part 1 is correct to your knowledge.

PART 2
The second part of the Application describes your rehabilitation project.  It is strongly recommended that the Part 2 is submitted to IHPA and approved before starting any construction.  Any work that occurs prior to approval by the IHPA is done at your own risk.

• Name of property:  This asks for the property’s historic name, if it has one (for example, “The Colonel Thompson House” or “The Miller Warehouse”), and its mailing address.

• Property owner:  The current property owner and his or her email address (if available) should be included here.  Emailing questions or concerns to the owner can help us expedite our review of the Application.

• Architect/Designer for current project:  A project does not need to have engaged a design professional to be eligible for the assessment freeze.  But if a design professional was involved, his or her contact information should be provided here.  If the IHPA reviewers have detailed architectural questions about the project, they may contact your architect for assistance. 

• Approximate construction start date and Anticipated completion date:  These let the IHPA reviewers know whether construction has already started and how far along the project might be.  These dates don’t have to be exact – just to the nearest month (for example, “June 2008”).  Projects already under construction or those that are already completed prior to the approval of the Part 2 are still eligible to apply for the assessment freeze.  However, beginning construction prior to approval may jeopardize the project meeting the Standards and could therefore disqualify a project from receiving the assessment freeze.

• Materials to submit with this form:  IHPA requires this information in order to review your project.  Check the appropriate boxes on the right.

1. Completed Part 2 cover sheet with signature:  Please fill out all the boxes and sign the form.

2. Completed “Detailed description of rehabilitation” sheets:  This section is described more fully below (see number 7).  These sheets aren’t numbered, so be sure to include all of them.

3. Exterior pre-construction photographs on glossy paper and labeled:  The color photos we need for this part of the application should document the pre-construction condition of the property.  They shouldn’t be historic photos (although those are frequently helpful when we review a property), but they should be taken prior to construction.  They can be taken with a film or digital camera.  If digital, they must be at a high resolution, at least 4”x6” in size, and printed on glossy photo paper.  Number and label each photo with the property address, a description and the date taken (i.e., “Photo #7, 123 E. Elm, view of entry foyer and main staircase, before rehabilitation”).  Exterior photos should show each façade or elevation both close up and at some distance so that roof lines and chimneys are visible.  Include views from the corners of the lots if possible.  If any part of the project has already occurred (or is underway) prior to the submittal of the application, then both photos before and after this work should be submitted with the Part 2.

4. Interior pre-construction photographs on glossy paper and labeled:  These photos should form a virtual walk-through of the property, with overall shots of rooms and details where appropriate.  Detail shots should be taken of distinctive elements, such as fireplaces, historic light fixtures, original doors, stained glass windows, plaster details, molding, and railings.  Include shots of problems as well, such as badly repaired or missing elements, damaged areas, and later additions.  Photos of the major spaces in the building (including the vestibule, foyer, stairhall and stair, living and dining rooms, main hallways) are particularly important to document.  It is sometimes helpful to stand in a corner and shoot the whole room diagonally and then repeat from the opposite corner.

5. Architectural plans, if available:  A project does not need to have engaged a design professional to be eligible for the assessment freeze.  But if a design professional was involved and plans were prepared, a complete printed set of plans must be submitted for review.  Plans do not have to be full-size but must be printed at a scale where the text is legible.  When available, it is important that existing condition or demolition plans are included.

• Signature:  Signing here certifies that the information in the Part 2 is correct to your knowledge.

• Detailed Description of Rehabilitation:  This portion is the heart of the Application.  The information in the pairs of boxes allows IHPA to determine whether the project meets the Standards.  In other words, this section lets us know if the significant historic character of the property has been retained through the rehabilitation.  The boxes provide a narrative for the project.  You can use the sheets provided with this form, or use a similar format on attached sheets.  Feel free to add additional sheets if you need more than 3 to fully describe your project.  Additional sheets are available on our website in Microsoft Word or in Adobe Acrobat.  All phases of your rehabilitation project must be described: all exterior and all interior work, site work, and new construction, even if the work is an ineligible expense.  A new pair of boxes should be used to describe each component of the project.  Each pair should describe a specific architectural feature or a more general element or space (examples: staircase, wood floors, roofing, windows, front parlor) and the rehabilitation work proposed on it.  In the left box, describe the existing feature or space, give an assessment of whether it is original to the house or a later addition, and give an approximate date of the feature (example: “entry foyer main staircase, original feature, c. 1894; low bookshelf, later addition, c. 1978”).  Reference the appropriate photographs and architectural drawings (if they exist) in the space provided at the bottom of the left box.  In the right box, explain the rehabilitation work to be undertaken on the particular feature or space (example: “entry foyer main staircase, paint to be chemically stripped and woodwork to be stained and varnished, 5 missing spindles to be replaced with exact duplicates, remove low bookshelf). 

PART 3
This last component of the Application provides us with basic information about the effect of the work on the property.  It should be completed and submitted when construction is finished. 

• Name of Property:  This asks for the property’s historic name, if it has one (for example, “The Colonel Thompson House” or “The Miller Warehouse”), and its mailing address.

• Property owner:  The current property owner and his or her email address (if available) should be included here. 

• Data on Rehabilitation Project: 

• Property Index Number (PIN) or legal description:  A PIN is a 14-digit numerical code for the legal description of a piece of land as it has been defined for the purposes of real estate taxation.  This number is available from your assessor or may be found on your property tax bill. 

• Assessor’s Fair Market Value for the year the work began:  This number is determined by your assessor and appears on your property tax bill.  It may only appear on one bill in a given year and not on subsequent installment bills.  The minimum expenditure to trigger the assessment freeze program is 25% of this value.  Be sure to use the number from the bill for the year when you began the project.  For instance, if you began your project in 2007 and the assessor’s fair market value in 2007 was $290,850, then your minimum expenditure is 25% (or ¼) of that number, which is $72,712.50.

• Assessed Value for the year the work began:  The assessed value also is determined by the assessor and also appears on your property tax bill.  Again, be sure to use the number from the bill for the year your project began.

• Total of Eligible Expenses (Costs attributed solely to rehabilitation of the existing building):  We ask you to separate out these costs because only the money you spend on the existing structure can be counted towards your minimum expenditure. 

• Total of Ineligible Expenses (Costs for new construction and site work associated with the rehabilitation):  This amount includes all the ineligible expenses incurred during the rehabilitation.  Adding D and E should result in the full project budget.

• Date the project began:  We require this to the nearest month (i.e., “June, 2008”).

• Date the project ended:  Again, only required to the nearest month.  This should be a real ending month, not just an estimate, as was provided in Part 2.

• Total number of housing units before rehabilitation:  How many residences (or condo units) were within the property when you began the rehabilitation?  If you started with a house in which one family lived, this number is 1.  If you began with a building with 15 apartments, even if some were unoccupied, the number is 15.  If the property did not contain any residences (i.e., an adaptive reuse of a warehouse), the number is 0.

• Total number of housing units after rehabilitation:  How many available residences were in the property after construction was completed?  Single-family houses have 1.

• Materials to submit with this form:  IHPA requires this information in order to review your project.  Check the appropriate boxes on the right.

• Completed and signed Part 3:  All application forms must be signed by the owner and dated.

• Exterior post-construction photographs printed on glossy paper and labeled: Include exterior photographs of the completed work with views that match those submitted with the Part 2.  Just like with the Part 2, photographs must be at a high resolution, at least 4”x6” in size, printed on glossy photo paper, and numbered and labeled with a description and date taken (example: Photo #7, view of entry foyer main staircase, after rehabilitation). 

• Interior post-construction photographs printed on glossy paper and labeled:  Again, interior shots should parallel those submitted with the Part 2.  

• Copies of proof of expenditure:  Documentation must be submitted to substantiate the costs of your rehabilitation project.  Proof of expenditure includes canceled checks, paid invoices, credit card statements with unrelated purchases and sensitive information redacted, etc.  Please send photocopies – we do not require originals.  A written summary or spreadsheet of work items and costs would be helpful.  Include a filled-out “Do-It-Yourself Labor Report” form here, if applicable.   Click here for a Microsoft Word version or here for an Adobe Acrobat version. 

• Signature:  By signing the Part 3, you are certifying that the information in the Part 3 is correct to your knowledge.