Purchasing Property from the Albany County Land Bank
The first and most important step in purchasing a property from the Albany County Land Bank (Land Bank) is to determine if a Land Bank property is right for you. Most properties owned by the Albany County Land Bank are vacant, abandoned tax-foreclosures.
The foreclosure process can take years, during which time properties, especially vacant buildings, can deteriorate, significantly increasing the amount of time and money needed to bring them back to productive use. Some properties acquired by the Land Bank have been abandoned for more than 20 years.
Depending on your resources, goals, and abilities, a Land Bank property may or may not be the right fit for you. Land Bank properties are sold in “as is” condition and no warranties are made regarding property condition. Prospective buyers looking to purchase a building from the Land Bank really need to do their homework to understand the amount of work necessary to rehabilitate. The Land Bank does not typically have “move-in-ready” properties. All Land Bank buildings need to be improved - some more than others - in order to meet local building code, which is a requirement of purchasing a Land Bank building. The Land Bank shares what information it has on properties, but typically we have very little information about the property and it is up to the buyer to develop a clear understanding of whether or not a property is right for them.
The next step in our process is to read, then re-read our Property Purchase Application. The Application contains all of the information needed to be provided in order to be considered to purchase a Land Bank property (only complete applications are reviewed), terms and conditions of property sales (what to expect if approved) as well as important property viewing and enforcement information. Applicants seeking to purchase buildings are required to make an appointment to view the property prior to purchase. Our staff is available to assist if you have any questions about the Application - we even offer Application Assistance! You can book an appointment for either online. Please call our office at (518) 407-0309 to learn more.
Each month the Land Bank publishes a list of properties available for purchase the following month. Please sign up for our email list (by visiting our home page) to receive the lists when they are published. Property Sales Lists are also available on our homepage during the course of the month. Please pay close attention to the published application deadline (starting April 27, 2021, the last Tuesday of each month), as only Applications received by the deadline are considered.
Completed Applications received by the deadline are presented to the Albany County Land Bank’s Acquisition and Disposition Committee, which is a Committee comprised of members of the Land Bank’s Board of Directors that review and recommend purchase offers (or direct Land Bank staff on required items necessary to approve purchase offers) to the Board of Directors. The Land Bank’s Acquisition and Disposition Committee typically meets the second week of each month.
Purchase offer recommendations are presented to the full Board of Directors, which typically meets the third Tuesday of each month. All property sales by the Land Bank must be approved by the Board of Directors. The Albany County Land Bank disposes of real property in accordance with its Disposition Policy. When approving purchase offers the Board of Directors seeks to select those that are reasonable and consistent with the Land Bank’s mission and purpose and takes into consideration one or more of the following factors:
Buyer Qualifications (as defined in the Disposition Policy), experience, and/or financial capacity
Offer price in relation to asking price
Proposed use, quality, and extent of the proposed redevelopment plan/investment
Value to community/community benefit
It is important to note that the Land Bank’s Board of Directors approves property sales at its sole discretion and is not bound to make decisions based on any one factor. The Land Bank typically receives multiple applications for each property and in some cases may approve one or more alternate buyers in the event the approved buyer does not close on the property.
All applicants will be informed of the Board’s decision no later than the Friday following the board meeting. If your application is selected, you will be contacted by a Land Bank attorney with information regarding the closing. It is important to note that many Land Bank properties are competitive and to know that if your application was not selected, our staff is committed to working with you to find a property!