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For buyers and sellers in Southwest Michigan interested in conserving land.
The SWMLC conservation buyers program is designed to connect conservation-minded buyers interested in purchasing natural lands with conservation-minded landowners who want to sell to a buyer interested in protecting the conservation values they’ve grown to cherish. SWMLC posts ecologically significant property for sale on this webpage and email listserve. These sales can be structured in the following ways:
*Seller offers land at market value and buyer purchases with a pledge to restrict with a conservation easement. This option makes the buyer eligible for conservation tax incentives.
*Seller restricts land with a conservation easement and sells to a buyer interested in a protected property (conservation easement) with potentially reduced property taxes. This option makes the seller eligible for conservation tax incentives.
In both examples, the conservation easement guarantees that the land will remain protected forever.
Conservation Easement: A conservation easement is a permanent legal instrument recorded to the deed that protects your natural resources (productive soils, wildlife habitat, water resources) against potentially detrimental uses, and leaves the land under private ownership with the right to convey. With a conservation easement, a landowner can reserve the right to farm, manage forests, and even add buildings and structures within a designated building envelope. Divisions of the land, clear-cutting, gravel mining, and commercial and industrial uses that could destroy the natural and agricultural values would be voluntarily restricted to protect the land’s resources in perpetuity.
Incentives for entering into a conservation easement: By protecting land with a voluntary conservation easement you may be eligible for federal tax deductions along with other tax benefits. A donated conservation easement benefits the public and the significant tax incentives can help offset your investment costs. Please click on the following links to learn more about specific tax incentives:
Federal Income Tax Benefits and Expanded Tax Questions
Estate Tax Benefits
Property Tax Benefits
The Process: A sale might be structured as follows:
1) The buyer would state his/her intent to donate a conservation easement at the time of signing a purchase agreement. SWMLC can work with the buyer in advance to establish the parameters of the conservation easement, review significant conservation values, and take the conservation easement proposal to our Board of Directors for approval. SWMLC will post properties that fit in with our land protection objectives, but beyond that a conservation easement must meet the IRS definition of a public benefit to qualify for tax incentives. Link for IRS definition: * IRStest
2) Buyer intent might be stated in the form of a charitable pledge to donate a conservation easement but a pledge would not be required to be contractually submitted through a purchase agreement. If a conservation easement is donated prior to December 31 in any tax year, the buyer/seller is eligible to begin claiming tax benefits beginning the next tax year.
What’s the Next Step?: Call SWMLC at (269) 324-1600 and ask to speak to Geoff Cripe or someone in our Land Protection Department. For sellers- We can post pictures and a description on our website and will refer potential conservation buyers to your listing agent! For buyers- We can meet to identify objectives that will help you protect your land and retain the needed flexibilities to enjoy the property as desired. We can refer you to real estate agents and help you find conservation properties throughout Southwest Michigan. For real estate agents/brokers- we hope to work with more of you to help protect what is special and unique in Southwest Michigan. If you are open to maintaining regular communication with our land protection staff to submit properties for posting and receive referrals from us please contact us!
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