If you have owned your home, a vacation home, apartment building, retail buildings, acreage, or a ranch for many years, a charitable gift of that real estate can be especially tax-advantageous.  The property may have so appreciated in value over the years that its sale would result in sizeable capital gains tax.  If given to OLT instead, you avoid the tax and, at the same time, realize a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the real estate. 

You may also wish to consider a gift of your personal residence or ranch, reserving the right to continue to live in the house or ranch property for life (and if applicable, the lifetime of your surviving spouse).   Through such an arrangement, you will be entitled to a current income tax deduction for a portion of the fair market value of the property.

• Types of Real Estate Gifts

OLT accepts two types of real estate gifts — both of which are critical to our work:

• Gifts we call "trade lands" — real estate gifts that donors permit us to sell, with the proceeds going to support our work. Examples of those are mentioned above.
• Land which donors would like to permanently protect through permanent conservation easement or in-fee donation:  
• Conservation Easements
  A most important tool, these binding legal arrangements provide both land preservation and continued private ownership.  Becoming part of the title of the property, such easement restrictions can be tailored to the landowner's interests and, under OLT monitoring and enforcement, remain in effect regardless of future ownership.
• Land Acquisition
  OLT may identify and acquire environmentally-important land for landscape protection according to its Land Conservation Master Plan, generally sought as an outright in-fee donation or acquisition at a bargain price which affords tax deductibility to the seller

OLT is not able to protect or receive all of the real estate that is offered to us for protection through conservation easement, bargain price acquisition or in-fee donation.  The decision to accept or decline land in the San Luis Valley for preservation through conservation easement, bargain price acquisition or in-fee donation is made by OLT’s Board of Directors in conjunction with its mission and Land Conservation Strategic Plan.  If you are interested in making such a gift, please contact OLT’s Executive Director, Doug Bishop.