An empty block of land in the US has just sold for $14 ($US10), but the million-dollar headache comes free.
A long-neglected vacant lot in East Oakland, California has officially changed hands for just $14 ($US10), but the dirt-cheap price tag doesn’t tell the whole story.
The new owner is also inheriting years of financial baggage tied to the property, including roughly $2.4 million ($US1.7 million) in unpaid taxes, penalties and liens, according to KQED.
This week, Alameda County supervisors approved the symbolic sale of the 1,394 sqm (15,000-square-foot) parcel at 8215 MacArthur Blvd. to the Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation (BCZ), a non-profit focused on community revitalisation and affordable housing, Realtor reports.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time,” said Supervisor Nate Miley, per SFGate. “We want to have other tax-defaulted properties being made available for affordable housing; this is a strategy we earnestly want to pursue.”
The property has spent the better part of three decades collecting little more than weeds, illegal dumping and frustration from nearby residents. While an appraisal earlier this year estimated the land is worth about $1.28 million ($US900,000), the debt attached to it has ballooned far beyond that figure, making it nearly impossible to sell through traditional channels.
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An empty block of land in the US has just sold for $US10. Picture: Google Maps
But, the lot has roughly $US1.7 million in unpaid taxes. Picture: Google Maps
Because the debt now exceeds the property’s market value, California law allowed the county to sell it for a nominal amount instead of attempting another unsuccessful auction.
Previous efforts to find a buyer failed, and county officials said several nearby organisations declined to take on the parcel because of its size, development challenges and a large billboard that occupies the site.
“These properties will become productive and will generate economic benefit once they are rehabilitated, developed, and rented or sold to low-income taxpayers,” Treasurer-Tax Collector Henry Levy said in a letter to the board, per SFGate.
The BCZ’s deputy CEO of real estate told KQED they eventually agreed to acquire the property after two neighbours had mentioned the empty lot to them.
The area has spent decades as an empty lot that has been collecting weeds and has become an illegal dumping site. Picture: Google Maps
The Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation, a non-profit focused on community revitalisation and affordable housing purchased the empty lot. Picture: Google Maps
“They also made the county aware of us, and that’s how we started working together,” Davis explained.
“People bring things to us because they believe that we can make something happen that is both fair, equitable, and innovative.”
Exactly what will be built on the site hasn’t been decided. Organisation leaders say affordable housing remains the long-term goal, but the immediate focus is cleaning up the neglected lot and putting it to use for the community.
For Alameda County, officials hope this unusual $14 ($US10) deal proves that even the most troublesome properties can eventually get a second chance, provided someone is willing to take on the not-so-tiny fine print.
Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.
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