City Owned Residential Property

Schenectady’s Procedure for the Sale of City-Owned Property


Buying a house can sometimes seem confusing.  Below is a brief explanation of how the home buying process works through the City.*
Most properties that are owned by the City are listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS - www.mls.com) for a minimum of ten calendar days prior to any offer being presented to the City Council.  

List of City-Owned Property for Sale

  1. Available Structures as of 8/1/18

Offer Forms

  1. Income Qualification and Purchase Form

Offers through a real estate agent should be made on standard MLS documents. Offers on non-MLS listed properties can be submitted with the "Income Qualification and Purchase Form" link on this page. All potential purchasers must demonstrate financial ability to purchase the property and bring it up to code before any offer is presented to City Council.

 

To demonstrate financial ability to purchase, the potential purchasers must present documentation sufficient to satisfy the City. The following are examples of documentation which may be requested:   
ü  A prior year tax return  
ü Two most recent savings and checking account statements 
ü Two most recent paystubs   
ü Any other additional income verification information
In addition to financial ability, all prospective buyers will be cross referenced with the City of Schenectady’s Bureau of Code Enforcement and Bureau of Receipts to determine whether or not the prospective buyer is up to date on their taxes and/or has outstanding code violations. In addition, the City of Schenectady will check the purchaser for outstanding liens, judgments, bankruptcies and other pertinent information.  

 

Proposals are considered for value of the offer, financial ability, history of the owner relating to taxes and code issues. The City Property Management Committee considers offers and then forwards a recommendation to the City Council.  The City Council then considers whether to authorize the Mayor to enter into the agreement.  No offers may be made after the contract is presented to the Council Committee Meeting for consideration.  
The City’s Owner Occupancy Program requires owner occupant buyers to occupy the property for 5 years after purchase or the City will recapture the property. The City will do periodic checks on the property.

All purchasers must bring property up to code within a designated time frame, usually one year, or the City will recapture the property.

* These are general guidelines which will be followed, however the City acknowledges that there are unique facts and circumstances to each sale and sometimes it may be necessary to deviate from these procedures. No sales are final until after Council approval and the City reserves the right to deviate from these guidelines on a case by case basis at its sole discretion with Council consent.