Donor Profile:
Saving Land, One House at a Time
PaoloVescia10.jpg)
Carol Goodwin© 2010 Paolo Vescia
After 30 years of being a landlord, Carol Goodwin knew she was finished when her tenants moved out of her house in San Mateo last year. She and her first husband had bought the house in 1960 and raised their children there. When they moved to another house in San Mateo ten years later, Carol, who had earned her real estate license, convinced her husband to keep it as a rental.
But after three decades of re-painting and patching walls, Carol was getting weary and turned to her tax accountant for advice. "I asked him what would happen in terms of capital gains if I sold it," she says. "He was the one who told me about a charitable remainder annuity trust." The life-income gift appealed to Carol with its guarantee of income, shelter from capital gains and charitable tax deduction. "With this type of trust, I receive the same amount as I would if I were renting my house but without all the hassle," she says.
When it came time to pick the beneficiary of the trust, Carol didn't hesitate in her choice of POST. "I've always been interested in saving land. There are bigger organizations that do it too, of course, but I wanted to give back to something more local." A committed walker, Carol has met a friend at Sawyer Camp Trail near Crystal Springs Reservoir two mornings a week for the last 20 years. Her other passion is cats. She volunteers with the Homeless Cat Network every week and is keenly aware of the importance of preserving habitat for our region's wildlife.
Carol's gift was made in honor of her late husband, Russell Palin. While Carol will continue to receive payments from the trust fro the rest of her life, the remainder will eventually support POST's land-saving work.
"I live on a creek in San Mateo, and even though I'm in the city limits, deer come visit my backyard almost every day," she says. "It's beautiful here. I feel so fortunate."
Real Estate Gifts to POST
Making a gift of real estate — such as a vacation home or iinvestment property — can reduce your taxes, ease the demands of owning property and even provide you with lifetime income.
Here are three ways to make a real estate gift to POST, each with its own benefits to you:
- Making an outright gift allows you to receive the maximum charitable income tax deduction and avoid capital gains taxes.
- Gifting a remainder interest in your property allows you to receive a tax deduction at the time of the gift and continue enjoying the property during your lifetime.
- Establishing a charitable remainder trust with real estate allows you to avoid capital gains taxes, obtain a tax deduction at the time of the gift and receive income for the rest of your life.
No matter what method you choose, your gift helps permanently protect our region’s extraordinary open space lands.
Back to Table of Contents