Give the Gift of Real Estate

It is possible to donate a home or a parcel of land to help Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County make a huge leap forward in the home building process. A gift of real estate provides you with tax benefits while helping local families and building strong communities. Gifts of real estate can be undeveloped land, residential, or commercial property. Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County generally looks for land large enough to build at least a single-family home; however, a larger lot could allow us to build multiple housing units. This gives us the ability to help more than one family per build.

There are several ways to give the gift of home:

  • Outright Gift: Here, the donor transfers the property for retention and use to Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County, or for immediate liquidation. Proceeds are allocated however the donor requests.

  • Retained Life Estate (RLE): In this scenario, the donor transfers the ownership of their property to Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County, but retains the right to live in the property for a specified period of time. Alternatively, the donor can accept a remainder interest in a personal residence, farm, or vacation property under an RLE agreement.

  • Bargain Sale: Here, the donor sells the property to Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County for less than its appraised fair market value and receives a charitable deduction for the difference between the value of the property and the sale price.

  • Life Income Gift: Another option is for the donor to transfer ownership of their property to fund a charitable remainder trust or charitable gift annuity.

  • Bequest: Donors can actually bequeath their property to Habitat of Humanity of Dutchess County in a will or revocable (living) trust.

To learn more about how to donate real estate, please contact Jessica Miuccio at jessica.miuccio@habitatdutchess.org, or by calling (845) 297-7610, option 6.