Great news that can do nothing but help areas like Broadway-Fillmore…
Council looks to alter auction policies
By BRIAN MEYER
News Staff Reporter
9/6/2006
Claiming too many properties fall into the hands of “slumlords and shysters,” the Common Council is exploring ways to give first-time home buyers an edge at foreclosure auctions.
Lawmakers returned from a six-week summer recess with neighborhood housing woes on their minds. Three Council members are sponsoring a push to restrict bidding on the first day of city foreclosure auctions to buyers who promise to move into the properties they purchase.
Legal hurdles scuttled a similar effort last year, but sponsors say they believe they have found ways to avoid court challenges. One such tactic would involve the city taking title to specific properties before the auction, which officials said would give Buffalo the right to tighten bidding procedures. The renewed effort has won the support of Marilyn Rogers, a high-profile community activist of the West Village Group, a neighborhood association on the Lower West Side.
“We need this type of policy,” she said after listening to lawmakers discuss the issue Tuesday. “At least, you would have people who would take care of their properties and who believe in the city,” Rogers said. “It would be their blood, sweat and tears that would be put into these properties.”
Masten Council Member Antoine M. Thompson, the bill’s lead sponsor, said too many vacant properties have been sold to unscrupulous buyers who have one goal – to make money “flipping” their acquisitions to other buyers. Many would-be home owners are outbid by “speculators,” which he called a travesty.
“Every year, you have first-time home buyers who just can’t compete with people who are holding pocketfuls of cash,” Thompson said, adding that residents looking for their first homes should get top priority for city financial assistance.
