Eco-Salvage FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. How does your program work?
A. Our donors donate the improvements (buildings, driveways, pools, fences, etc.) on their land to us. A special Real Estate appraisal values the improvements. That valuation is your tax deduction. This program is based upon a Non-Cash Charitable Donation and has been used repeatedly for donation of real estate improvements since the current IRS code was created in the early 1900’s.
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Q. Why do you work with a real estate appraisal, I thought all non-profits worked with a personal property valuation?
A. Harvest eco-salvage (Harvest) is uniquely permitted to work, by the IRS, using a real estate appraisal that values your improvements based upon location, age, depreciation, wear and tear known as Fair Market Value, just like you paid for it and are taxed on it. A personal property valuation is based upon what your donated items can sell for in a thrift store.
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Q. How can the land value be separated from the improvements?
A. Real estate is made up of two thing, land plus improvements upon the land. When you look at your property tax bill, the values for land and improvements are separate. Land very rarely decreases in value and improvements change all the time, they can be left in disrepair, moved off the property, remodeled and added onto. Additionally they are also insured separately, your title insurance covers the legalities of the land such as boundaries, easements, right of ways, etc. Your improvements are insured against destruction, such as fire, flood, vandalism, etc. Should you own bare land is is marketed and sold as land, if you own a fast food franchise for example, it often sits on land leased to you and your property ax bill is for the improvements only.
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Q. How can the improvements be donated separate from the underlying land?
A. Using a Non-Cash Charitable donation, an IRS Qualified Real Estate Appraisal and a Qualified Non-Profit organization, the donor may donate all of the improvements using the IRS rules for this type of donation.
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Q. Is it legal to remove the improvements off the land?
A. We do not have information from any state we have worked in that requires any type of title work or special permission for a donor to donate improvements.
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Q. Will this type of donation trigger an audit?
A. All of our donors are strongly advised to consult with their tax professionals as well as direct their tax professionals to conference call with the donor and us, in order than everyone have their questions answered about our unique program. Our unique program was initially founded in 1999 as the Eco-Logic Foundation, a business plan change in late 2016 required that we submit a new application to the IRS, a new EIN and a new name. In early 2017 Harvest eco-salvage was approved as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Since our program’s inception in 1999, we have never had a donation questioned, modified or refused by the IRS. We have never been required to present and defend our program in US Tax Court.
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Q. If my donation is challenged, what kind of support can I count on?
A. One of the IRS requirements of Harvest is to track all materials from every project. We obtain receipts for the donation of readily reusable materials and load tickets that bear the address of all structural materials that are delivered to their appropriate recycling facilities. We also maintain inventory records of each project. The appraiser is responsible for defending their valuation of the donation. Should either the appraiser or our Executive Director misrepresent the donation they can be subject to six figure fines.
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Q. Will the purchase appraisal I obtained be used?
A. No, an appraisal for donation is similar to a purchase appraisal, but the purchase appraisal doesn't meet the IRS requirements for this type of donation. Also a real estate appraisal for purchase has a six month life, an appraisal for donation has a limited 60 day life.
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Q. What is the difference in appraisals?
A. An in-place real estate appraisal values the improvements as a working structure. For example a complete finished kitchen with walls, roof, flooring, countertops, electrical, wiring, plumbing fixtures and system, plus the working appliances and cabinets. A personal property appraisal values the things that were taken out of a structure that is salable in their thrift and each is valued separately. For example a refrigerator, a sink cabinet, a light fixture, etc.
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Q. Can I use this appraisal to have my builder take apart the building and donate the salvaged goods myself to a Non-Profit?
A. No, there is much more to the donation and it must be made to a qualified non-profit that deals with real estate valued donations.
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Q. If I donate my house and you take it apart to recycle it, does that affect the donation value?
A. No, the first rule of any donation is “the donor cannot direct the use of a donation.” With our program your value is determined by it’s Fair Market real estate value (FMV) which values your donation as an intact working structure,
You donate that appraised structure to us and we fulfill our mission to the IRS. What we do with your donation is beyond your control.
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Q. What paperwork do I receive from you to claim this donation on my taxes?
A. Upon completion of our work on site and payment of all program costs, we issue a tax package which consists of two copies each of the appraisal, a donation acknowledgement letter and and IRS form #8283, signed by the appraiser and our executive director. We maintain extensive documentation of your donation in our files for a minimum of seven years.
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Q. How much additional time does your project add to our project?
A. The initial phase of our work involves the gleaning of all readily reusable materials that are donated to our non-profit partners to help fund them and get these materials back to work in our community. Typically a 2000 sq.ft. single level home will add three to five days to the schedule. Larger and more complicated projects require more time and more moving trucks accordingly.
The second phase of work is a structural “select demo”, performed by your contractor, whereas recyclable materials are separated and hauled to recycling facilities, the materials we cannot yet recycle go to the landfill. This process usually add another two to five days the dem schedule.
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Q. What building materials can be recycled?
A. Concrete, asphalt, all metals and wood are 100% recyclable. Concrete is crushed into man-made gravel which is used in all types of construction and prevents natural gravel being dug out of old stream beds and trucked miles to construction projects. Asphalt is ground, heated and used again for waterproofing, roof construction and roadways. The metals in building is most commonly are steel reinforcing members, metal studs, metal roofing, metal siding, copper piping, sheetmetal ductwork and metal fencings.
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Q. Do you sell these materials?
A. No, our mission is environmental. Harvest was created to divert reusable and recyclable building materials from our landfills. We are uniquely self-funded by th work we do and do not solicit grants, volunteers. Our donors pay our costs to operate this program.
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Q. Are your program costs based on a percentage of the donation value?
A. No. The IRS rules for our program do not allow that. Our program costs are based upon, manpower, day onsite, materials storage, trucking and all IRS documentation and compliance requirements.
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Q. I am considering an extensive remodel of my home (or commercial space). Can your program work for me?
A. Yes, One of our project managers can tour your project and assess it for compatibility with our program.
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Q. What id your approach to managing neighborhood resistance and the sentimental connections to the old structure?
A. We are aware that buildings have history and although we can’t stop urban re-development, we can offer the courtesy to the neighborhood by keeping a clean and orderly site and show the neighbors that we don’t consider these projects to be trash. The neighbors will see carefully wrapped salvaged cabinets, doors, windows, appliances, plumbing fixtures, etc., loaded into moving trucks not dumpsters. Then see the structure carefully taken apart and materials separated for recycling.
These salvaged materials will create new memories locally with recycled or re-purposed elements incorporated into new structures. Our donors choice to employ our environmental program shows their commitment to do the right thing with these materials and enhance our environment.
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Q. This program is new to me, how do you find donors?
A. Primarily, by word of mouth, much like the way our founder, Linda Eales, she built relationships with clients, builders, realtors, appraisers and wealth managers during her first career designing and building custom homes. She often jokes that Harvest, her brainchild, is great dinner party talk, with donors sharing their experience with our program. Having been raised in a contracting family, then becoming a General Contractor, her history and experience gave her the inside as to the vast amount of building materials that are required to construct a building. While seeing the amount of materials thrown into dumpsters onsite, led her to find a better way to encourage, promote and actually achieve environmental sustainability.
We are proud to have multiple repeat donors and our network of support continues to grow. Harvest eco-salvage currently has seven offices in nine state. All of them contributing to our impressive record of diverting millions of pounds of reusable and recyclable building materials away from our landfills annually, and back to work in our communities.
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Q. Can I have a demo party and let everyone break down some wall like on TV?
A. Definitely not, we don’t treat these projects like garbage. Our processes not like what you might seen TV. What we do is not demolition, it’s deconstruction. We use flashlights and pryers carefully. Also untrained people onsite is a safety and security issue. Site may have holes in the floor, exposed live wiring, etc. Additionally the project must convey to us as appraised , in readily reusable condition, with no spray painted materials, missing appliances, missing or broken fixtures or broken cabinets, doors and windows, etc.
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Q. Can I volunteer to help you deconstruct?
A. For reasons similar to the question above, we cannot let volunteers work on site, but thank you for your interest in our program,. Our teams consist of full time construction professionals, earning a paycheck. Besides our insurance carrier would probably have a stroke!
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Q. Who has need for the salvaged materials?
A. In addition to thrifty DIY homeowners and handymen and handywomen, there are many groups and communities with a demand for the materials we salvage.
Our social service, non-profit partners work to better the living conditions of many. Their thrift store income enables to fulfill their missions, by receiving good, reusable materials from us that they sell enables their resources can go further.
Arts and theater groups can muse many of the material we salvage.
Animal rescue facilities can use metal roofing and fencing, fabric shade structures and cast iron bathtubs make great water or feed troughs and cooling stations in extreme hot weather.
Construction training programs like lumber to learn carpentry, non-working appliance to scavenge for parts or learn to repair, electrical fixtures to learn wiring, plumbing fixtures to learn repair or installation, etc.
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