I just wish more developers went after historic tax credits so that buyers could take advantage of them. The credits are relatively easy to get. But developers, especially new and out of town developers, don't go after them because it is just more work, don't know, or can't stand working with the city.

With taxes as high as they are here, 10 year tax credits are a huge selling point.

These are great to additionally motivate the capable and interested to buy, and hold, and of course fix up these old places.

But it all pre-supposes that the buyers will want to remain in these neighborhoods and accept all the other er, uhm less appealing aspects of actually living a life in those neighborhoods.

Anyone else old enough to remember the dollar houses? I wonder how many of them are still owner occupied...

Here are two key questions for the future of Baltimore City. 1) During the recent boom, how many people have bought city homes because of the 10-year tax credit? 2) When the 10 years are up, and the property tax rate has not fallen, how many of these people will be willing to pay thousands of dollars more a year in taxes, rather than pull up stakes? For young families with children, in particular, this may be the tipping point - when added to issues with schools, crime, etc.

ResHill makes a good point. I would also mention that the extention of multiple tax credits and exclusions (such as for non-profit organizations) forces the city to raise tax rates on those who do pay them in order to raise the same amount of money. It also complicates the tax code making it less transparent and thus more prone to abuse. I appreciate the intent of the tax credits, to get people to invest in otherwise unappealing locations, however, I believe that a lower, more transparent, and fairer tax rates would do more to improve the overall economic climate in the city which would likely spill over to these areas in time anyway.