All Over Albany

The Albany County Land Bank is again selling lots in Albany for $100

360 Sheridan Ave, one of the lots for sale.

The Albany County Land Bank is again selling a bunch of vacant lots in the city of Albany for $100. It did something similar last year, and this time around it's opened the program up a bit by allowing nearby renters to buy the lots. Press release blurbage:

The "Spend a Little, Get a LOT!" program is designed to increase opportunities for residents to own vacant lots and help stabilize economically distressed neighborhoods. Under this year's program, 32 vacant lots will be available for purchase for $100 each, plus significantly reduced closing costs. ...

The Land Bank acquired the participating lots from Albany County through tax-foreclosure. The lots are located in the Land Bank's Focus Neighborhoods, which are among the most economically distressed in Albany County and include: Arbor Hill, Sheridan Hollow, South End, West End and West Hill in the City of Albany. ...

In response to feedback from local residents, the program has been expanded to include renters who have resided on the block face of a participating lot for five or more years. Other eligible applicants for this program include those that own property immediately adjacent to, or on the same block face as, the participating lot.

As with anything like this, it's very important to read all the details (see the first link above). Among them: "Buyers will also be required to retain ownership of the property for a period of five years." Also: Closing costs could push the all-in price to something like $700-$800.

The land bank will be accepting applications June 1 through June 30 and scored on criteria such as geographic proximity and proposed use.