As we approach the holiday season, many of us are reflecting on how fortunate we are, and are looking at different ways to give back to those in need. There are so many ways to donate, but we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight one tactic that may not be top of mind - the donation of real estate to a charity.

As you can imagine, this type of donation would be rare given the high value of real estate, but our team has been fortunate to work on several of these donations, and we felt it was worth explaining, particularly for people looking to make a meaningful donation but who have not considered the benefits of this type of giving.

When individuals or families are looking at making a significant charitable donation, this can often be a very powerful and meaningful way to give. Depending on an individual’s particular financial and charitable goals, donating real estate could permit the leveraging of a valuable investment to achieve maximum impact from a donation.

There are times when this type of giving can be particularly beneficial. The donation could consist of a primary residence as part of an estate, a recreational property that is no longer in use, or a revenue property that creates an ongoing cash flow for the non-profit organization. These are just a few examples, but as you can imagine, most charities would be willing to accept this scale of donation for almost any type of real estate asset. Even properties which may be considered relatively low value or difficult to sell can make ideal donations.

In our experience, individuals with a commitment to giving back often take advantage of donating real estate in years where they are disposing of other large assets - companies or other real estate holdings - and can use the tax benefits of a significant real estate donation.

Here is a basic overview of the process when a donor makes the decision to “gift” a real estate property to a registered charity.

• A third-party evaluation is performed by a certified appraiser to determine the market value of the property.
• The property is then legally transferred to the charity by deed of sale at a notary
• The donor receives a tax receipt for the amount of the donation, which can be applied to reduce his income tax burden in the year of the donation.

In addition to the tax benefit for the donation, there are several other benefits of this type of transaction. First, this can be a quick and easy way to dispose of a property that may be difficult to sell. Also, in nearly all cases, it’s usually quite easy to get inspectors, notaries and real estate brokers to donate their time and professional services, so the friction costs normally associated with real estate are greatly reduced. Most charities typically have access to the resources and expertise for evaluating, receiving, processing, and liquidating this type of gift, and if not, they are easy to find, because many professionals are looking for a way to donate their time to give back to the community.

Over the last few years, we have been fortunate enough to be the intermediary in the donation of several properties to registered charities. Having gained experience with this process, our team is hopeful we can reproduce these types of gifts year after year. If you or someone you know is interested in making a charitable donation of property, please reach out to discuss how we can help. Rest assured, all consulting and brokerage fees are waived when we work on a charitable transaction, and we have a wide range of supporting professional willing to help for free as well.