Purchasing City-Owned Real Property

The City of Albany owns parcels of real property throughout the City. Some of these parcels are for sale. This page provides information about the process of purchasing City-owned property.

First, if you are interested in purchasing a particular parcel of City-owned property will need to fill out the form below, after which someone will contact you regarding your requested purchase to let you know whether the City is willing and able to sell the parcel(s) about which you have inquired.

Next, your proposed purchase will be reviewed by various City departments. These departments may provide feedback or inform you of steps you may need to take to conform the property to all relevant laws, codes, regulations, and practices. If your plan for the property includes building a structure or otherwise developing the lot, at this point you will need to seek approval from the Planning Department for the particular land use approvals you will need.

Assuming no City departments raise any issues that would prevent the sale from taking place, you will then need to negotiate a purchase price with the City’s Department of Law. If the aggregate value of the parcel(s) you are attempting to purchase is $5,000 or more according to the City’s assessment roll, you will need to have an appraisal performed on the property at your sole cost and expense.

Once you have agreed to a sale price, your proposed purchase will have to be approved by the Common Council of the City of Albany. The Common Council must approve all sales of City-owned property. You may be required to attend a Council meeting, or a meeting of one of the Council’s committees as part of this process.

Finally, if the Common Council approves the sale, the Law Department will draft sale documents and exchange them with you for the purchase amount. You will be responsible for filing all sale documents with the County Clerk and/or other relevant bodies.

Please note that the above information is merely an overview of the process. Particular property transactions may involve more or different steps than those outlined above.