[RPPTL Leasing Committee] Historic Districts - disclosure

[RPPTL Real Estate Leasing Committee]

Hello

 lived in Spring Garden, a historic district in Miami, for just over 20 years,  I served as a board member of its civic association for numerous years and served as President for 3.  A common topic of concern was people buying in the district without knowledge of the historic ordinance/guidelines in place effecting additions that could be seen from the street, changes to the façade including changing windows or doors, or the requirement to return to or keep original design without a Certificate of Appropriateness from Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation board.  While president, I met several times with the presidents of the other districts in Miami and we all suffered the same issue.  The way we saw it, it was unfair to buyers to realize after their purchase that they were restricted design-wise and could not even replace a shingle roof to a like-kind roof if the original roof was something else (and more expensive).  Likewise, we felt it unfair to existing neighbors to have new grumble bunny  neighbors that were upset and trying to fight to do something inappropriate in the district – and we did endure some aggressive new owners hiring lawyers, architects, engineers to either change or even demo a contributing structure. We found that real estate agents oftentimes failed disclose – some perhaps for lack of knowledge and some perhaps for not wanting to bring up anything that would be seen as a negative.  But as with condos and HOAs, buyers should be aware of the rules and then decide if they want to still buy in.

I am in the process of moving to a house I am restoring in Arcadia’s historic district.  Also, I was recently appointed as a member on Arcadia’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC).  This same issue is being discussed and has been of concern for quite some time:  how to get potential buyers to know so that buyers in the district either are preservation-minded or at least do not object to the preservation guidelines.

I would love for realtors to be required to disclose.  But I am thinking that a good start would be for FAR to add a question or 2 regarding whether the property is within a historic district.  Or, broaden question 8 (see attached FAR Seller’s Property Disclosure form), which asks if an association is mandatory OR if an covenants, conditions or restrictions (CCRs) affect the property but then defines CCRs in a way that would exclude the disclosure of a historic ordinance and or guidelines in effect.

Does anyone know of any efforts in this area or have any comments, knowledge or interest in this topic?


Best regards,

Gioia DeCarlo , Esq.
ESCOBAR & DECARLO, LLC
16782 SW 88TH Street, PMB # 42
Miami, FL 33196
Tel. 305-324-9823
Fax. 305-677-9295

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