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May 14, 2008 The National Historical Society South Bend, Indiana 46601 Dear Friends at the Historical Society, Recently, I applied for a city grant to put siding on my house at 713 W. LaSalle Ave, with the help of my property management company's representative, Sharon Czarnecki. I have just learned that this request was turned down because of the concerns of the Historical Society that my house is an historical landmark. I understand and agree with the mission of the historical society to preserve the history and character of our South Bend downtown. However, as a homeowner, I find myself in a difficult position in trying to keep up financially with the needs and costs of preservation for the home and the area. I bought the home because I love both the historical craftsmanship and beauty of the home and because I am committed to the neighborhood and area. But I have had to move from South Bend for employment reasons. I have tried to sell the home to someone else who would appreciate its value. After two years on the market, I had no takers, only one bid that came in at 20 per cent below the market appraisal value. I have been subjected to a very high tax rate as a nonresident of the house, increasing the costs for me of owning the home. As a landlord, I try to keep the home in good condition for the tenants, as my property management company can confirm. I have made necessary repairs, upgraded the heating system and added air conditioning, replaced appliances, and generally tried to keep the house in good shape. All this comes at considerable costs, which is not fully covered by the revenues from rental income. It has not always been easy to attract tenants because of perceptions about the safety and quality of life in the neighborhood, and the house has at times sat vacant. Given these challenges, partly due to a skewed property tax system, partly due to larger challenges of urban regeneration and historical preservation in a town with extensive suburban housing construction, partly due to a nationwide market slump in housing, it is very difficult in South Bend as a property owner of an historical landmark to maintain the house in the conditions that either I, the city, or the Historical Society would aspire to. Every year, I lose money on this house. I have sought quotes for painting the house with the assistance of the property management company. It is very expensive; it costs more than 10 percent of the house's value to paint it, a sum that is high in absolute terms as well as relative terms. As the sole breadwinner for my family, covering my own family's living expenses as well as trying to keep the house in South Bend in good condition while trying to sell it, I have been unable to afford the cost of repainting the house. It was for this reason, as well as the problem of the age of the house and its corresponding risks of lead paint that we were interested in the grant program to assist 0