A trade lands opportunity can help you reach your financial goals while improving our community through conservation.
It probably comes as no surprise to you that here at Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) we are experts in land and, more specifically, in real estate transactions that preserve land for conservation. Simply stated, we have specialized knowledge and experience to ensure preservation-minded property owners achieve their goals.
As a land trust, MCF’s objective is to facilitate how a property will be best preserved and utilized so the public-at-large benefits. We work alongside public and private partners to permanently preserve land as open space through fee acquisition (outright purchase of land) or an easement (voluntary legal agreement that permanently limits the uses of the land to protect its conservation or agricultural values).
However, there is another way we can work together to preserve more open space, create new parks, and preserve our farmlands. That is a charitable donation of land to us with the intention of selling it, with or without the imposition of restrictions, and the proceeds from the sale benefiting our conservation work.
Trade Lands are real property donated to a land trust that may or may not have significant conservation characteristics. The property can be residentially or commercially developed, or undeveloped. Trade lands are donated to a land trust specifically to be sold (sometimes they are protected with restrictions and then sold), with the proceeds going to the land trust.
Great for us, but what is in it for you? By donating the land, you may avoid capital gains tax and may also receive a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the property.
Land trusts across the country just like MCF facilitate trade land transactions because they can assist the donor in benefiting financially while also helping them achieve their conservation goals. By donating land to MCF and allowing us to leverage our real estate skills, we can use the proceeds from the sale of the land to put towards our most important conservation initiatives and programs. Trade lands are important sources of unrestricted revenue.
Illustrated below are two examples of how donating land to be sold, known as Trade Lands, benefit families while also meeting conservation goals:
Example 1: Ethel, a retired schoolteacher, often worried about what would happen to the single-family home she lived in for the past 50 years after she died. Ethel was a life-long county resident and nature lover whose daily walk in a nearby park was often the highlight of her day. She had no heirs for her home, situated on one-acre of land in her highly developed neighborhood. After celebrating her 85th birthday she decided to stop worrying and amend her will to list a land trust as her sole beneficiary. She and her estate attorney met with MCF staff to discuss her goals and legacy. She determined that the proceeds of the sale should be dedicated towards purchasing land for parks and helping fund the land trust’s education programs in recognition of her rewarding career as a teacher. She took a lot of comfort in knowing this gift would leave a legacy that benefited the entire community after she was gone. The proceeds from the sale of Ethel’s home achieved her wishes – more land was added to a park, and environmental educational programs were expanded.
Example 2: John, Sam, and Mary inherited a three-acre undeveloped commercial lot situated on a highway in a commercially developed area. They knew the sale of the land could be complicated due to a zoning issue that needed to be sorted out. After consulting with their attorney and accountant, they determined that a donation of the land to a land trust would offer them a significant tax incentive from the charitable deduction. The land trust proceeded with an environmental investigation and appraisal of the property. Once donated, the family received a significant tax deduction. The land trust had the expertise on-staff to resolve the zoning issue and sell the property at fair market value. The proceeds of the sale will allow the land trust to help a local town create a new neighborhood park in an underserved area that previously had no access to greenspace or playground for the residents.
To learn more about Trade Lands, please contact William Kastning, Executive Director at wkastning@monmouthconservation.org or by phone at (732) 671-7000 for more information.