The Chautauqua County Land Bank Corporation endeavors to stabilize neighborhoods by targeting blight and/or declining properties which are negatively impacting neighborhood property values or livability. By acquiring these properties, the Land Bank can clean them up, secure them and offer them at below market value to interested purchasers who will commit to renovating them to specified levels. This reinvestment will not only rehabilitate the target property, but will hopefully also help reverse the trend of declining property values in the neighborhood.
Abandoned or foreclosed homes are acquired by the land bank and assessed for potential renovation. They are secured, appraised in “as is” condition, and cleaned-out. If they are structurally sound and have some market value, they will be listed in the Chautauqua County Realtors Association Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and marketed below market value, often at 60% below the appraisal.
Interested buyers may be do-it-yourselfers, investors, or development companies and will submit their plans for review using a simple application and proposal template. Often, a deadline is placed on proposal submissions and noted in the MLS listing. It is important to note that the program does not necessarily award a home to the highest bidder; proposals are reviewed by a committee of the board, and the proposal which best aligns with the mission of the land bank, and shows the best overall reinvestment and outcome for the home is generally recommended to the board for approval of a negotiated sale.
