If you’re thinking about buying a home in Richardson, Texas, or if you currently live there, you should know about the city’s Home Improvement Incentive Program. The City of Richardson will literally pay you to remodel, rehabilitate and care for your home, and has already paid out over $1 million in incentives since 2011. You may be thinking that this program sounds too good to be true, so let me explain how it works.

For example, assume that a home improvement project commences in January 2018 and is completed in June 2018. Let’s say that as a result of these improvements, 2019 property taxes will increase $300 above 2018 property taxes due to the increase in the taxable value of the home. The total incentive, paid to you on April 1, 2019, would be $3,000, meaning the city will have paid you ten times the property tax increase less than a year after completion of your project.

Here’s how to get in on this sweet deal: prior to beginning your home improvement project, you will simply need to fill out an application and submit it to the city. This must be done BEFORE you purchase supplies or begin the work. The project must include significant capital improvements, such as cabinets, countertops, flooring, landscaping, fences, and even mechanical upgrades like HVAC, water heaters, or roofing. To qualify, you’ll have 24 months to spend at least $20,000. Once you submit your brief application, you will be required to sign an economic development agreement. After you have approval, the fun begins! When the project is complete, the city will send out a representative to review the work, finalize your project, and, ultimately, cut you a check.

Feel free to call your Housed Real Estate team at 214.888.6864 with more questions. We are here to help!