Griffin - Spalding County Land Bank Authority

1. Review the list of properties available from the LBA and determine which one you want to purchase. Keep in mind that all sales are buyer beware, so it is your responsibility to make sure of the property address and condition. If you want to inspect the property personally, call the Land Bank office to see whether or not you can enter onto the property.
2. Submit a signed application to the LBA. You must include a statement about your planned use for the property. The Land Bank is not allowed to sell property for speculation.
3. Bids are due by Wednesday of the week prior to the meeting.
4. The recommended minimum bid is a guideline, but the Board is not inclined to approve bids that are substantially below it unless you can show that the land is worth substantially less. (For example, the RMB is based on there being a house present but you can show that the house is no longer there.)
5. Bids are presented to the Board at their monthly meetings, on the second Thursday of each month. They will take one of four actions: approve, not approve, table or counteroffer.
6. You will be contacted by LBA staff within 2-4 business days about the result of the vote on your offer.
7. If and when your bid is approved, staff will order a title examination of the property to assure that it can be sold.
8. The next step is to enter into a contract with GSCLBA. A staff member will contact you to arrange this, but it is YOUR responsibility to make sure you have a signed contract. You don’t have a deal until you have a written contract.
9. WAIT. The LBA has to foreclose the right of redemption before it can sell the property to you. This is a lengthly process, taking up to a year or more to complete. When your property gets close to the top of the list of foreclosures, staff will notify you of the date after which the closing can be scheduled.

1. Occasionally, the LBA receives two bids for the same piece of property for discussion at the same Board meeting.
2. When that happens, staff makes sure the Board members know that there is more than one offer, so they can compare the two offers.
3. The guidance the Board members will follow in making their decision is which sale comes closest to supporting the goals of the Land Bank, as set out in the Restated Intergovernmental Agreement and in state law.

1. To support the long-range development plans of the City and County, occasionally the LBA will “bank” land, i.e., hold it in inventory and not offer it for sale.
2. Banked land is agreed upon between staff for the City or County and the LBA.
3. Periodically, the City or County will reassess the development plans and notify the LBA if the land no longer needs to be banked.
4. Any interested party is free to question the development plan and the need for land to be banked.
5. The LBA has a Banking Agreement with the Griffin Housing Authority, under which the LBA can hold properties for the GHA in the same manner.
6. The LBA banks properties only for other governmental and quasi-governmental entities.

1. If you don’t have a contract that is signed by you and the LBA Director (or Chairperson of the Board), you don’t have a deal.
2. The LBA has a standard contract form which it uses for sales. Staff will prepare the contract and send it to you. It is your responsibility to make sure the LBA has a copy of the contract with your signature and that of the E.D./Chair.
3. The signed contract protects your right to purchase the property. The LBA will not take any other bids or enter into any other contracts for your property.
4. Remember that contracts are legal obligations. Once you have one, you are legally bound to buy the property and the LBA is obligated to sell it to you.

DIVISION OF SALE PROCEEDS WHEN

SPALDING COUNTY HAS DEMOLISHED A STRUCTURE

When Spalding County has demolished a structure on land that is or becomes property held by the Land Bank Authority, the Authority will pay seventy-five percent (75%) of the proceeds from the sale of such property to the County after such sale is completed. 

This policy will remain in force until such time as Spalding County no longer provides an annual supplement to the Land Bank Authority’s budget.

DIVISION OF SALE PROCEEDS WHEN

CITY OF GRIFFIN NUISANCE ABATEMENT LIEN PRESENT

Prior to beginning the process of foreclosure of the right of redemption for a property held by the Griffin Spalding County Land Bank Authority, a title certificate is obtained. When such title search reveals the presence of a lien for nuisance abatement by the City of Griffin, the Land Bank Authority will notify the City’s Department of Planning and Development of the pending foreclosure and sale of the property. The City will agree to release its lien so that the property may be sold unencumbered. After the property is transferred to a purchaser, the Land Bank Authority will pay seventy-five percent (75%) of the proceeds from any sale of such property to the City, if the amount of the City’s lien exceeds the purchase price. Any lien in an amount less than the purchase price will be paid in full to the City, up to 75% of that purchase price. 

This policy will remain in force until such time when the City of Griffin no longer provides an annual supplement of the Land Bank Authority’s budget.