Before you ask about a parcel, ask for the board-adopted acquisition and disposition policy. That document—not a national rule, not a blog post, not what the clerk remembers—sets the price, the eligibility screens, and the obligations you sign at closing. The application form is downstream of it. If you have not read the policy, you do not know what you are applying for.
This is the part of land bank work that wears people down: you find a lot, you call, you get transferred twice, and the answer is a PDF you have to read like a contract because it is one. That frustration is real. The strategy is to stop treating the policy as paperwork and start treating it as the deal.
What a disposition policy actually controls
County and municipal land banks operate under policies their boards adopt and revise. Allegany County, New York’s land bank policy, marked revised 7-2019, states that disposition decisions are typically based on two factors: the intended or planned use of the property, and the nature and identity of the transferee. That sentence is the whole game. Your plan and your identity as a buyer are the two things the board weighs.
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy notes that most surplus land statutes require agencies to sell at fair market value, which it says precludes the below-market dispositions that make affordable housing financially feasible. It also states that public asset corporations and land banks, where states authorize them, can hold and convey land under more flexible terms than a standard agency. That is the general backdrop. It is not a county rule. Your county’s policy is the operative text.
The written plan is the application
Allegany County’s policy requires potential transferees to submit written plans that must include, at a minimum: a project description with the ultimate use of the property, a development schedule, an investment plan including purchase price and projected development costs, the transferee’s experience in similar projects, and three references.
Read that list as a drafting assignment, not a formality. The project description has to match what the development agreement will enforce. The schedule has to be one you can hit. The investment plan has to show where the money comes from, because the policy also states that all tax incentives and financing necessary for the development must be committed for the development prescribed in the development agreement prior to actual disposition. A plan that says “we will seek funding” is not the same as committed financing.
Lima, Ohio’s land bank developer application asks for a development plan with a narrative summary, an estimated project timeline, and a description of anticipated funding sources, and notes the Land Bank Committee may request additional documentation to verify feasibility, financial capacity, and compliance with zoning, building, and land bank requirements. Same logic, different form.
The development agreement binds you after closing
Allegany County’s policy requires that each property transfer be subject to a development agreement containing, at minimum, a project description, a development schedule, a project budget and financing, and an enforcement mechanism. The policy also states that transactions shall be structured to permit the land bank to enforce recorded covenants or conditions upon title for a specified period, in some cases through subordinate financing held by the land bank.
This is the part buyers underestimate. The purchase price may be small. The enforceable commitments are not. If your plan says the lot becomes a community garden with a water connection by a certain season, the development agreement is where that becomes a deadline with a remedy attached. Draft the plan with the enforcement mechanism in mind, because the board will.
Pricing is a published schedule, not a negotiation
Allegany County’s policy states that the Land Bank Board of Directors shall set the sale price of land bank-owned properties that will be listed with an agent or transferred in any manner. The board sets it. You read it.
Lima, Ohio publishes a schedule in its developer application: lots up to 10,000 square feet are priced at $400, plus applicable title fees. For lots exceeding 10,000 square feet, the price is $400 plus $0.01 per square foot for the area exceeding 10,000 square feet, plus applicable title fees.
Here is how to read that schedule, using a clearly hypothetical example: a 12,000-square-foot parcel in a city using Lima-style pricing would compute as $400 plus $0.01 for each of the 2,000 square feet above the 10,000 threshold, or $20, for a subtotal of $420 before title fees. That arithmetic illustrates how to apply a published schedule. It is not a prediction of what any specific city will charge you.
Peoria, Illinois runs a different track for side lots. Its program page lists $63 to record the deed plus a $50 processing fee, a total of $113, for an owner-occupant of the adjacent home. For a buyer who does not live in the adjacent home, the page lists $57 to record the deed, a $50 processing fee, and an approved purchase price. The fee structure tells you which track you are on.
Eligibility screens you can fail before you start
Allegany County’s policy states that individuals and entities that were the prior owners of property at the time of the tax foreclosure that transferred title to the county are ineligible to be the transferee of that property from the land bank. It also states that the transferee must not own real property in New York with unremediated code violations, tax delinquency, or property transferred to a local government by tax foreclosure.
Peoria’s side lot qualifications require the buyer to be current on property taxes, to owe the city no money, to have no environmental case or housing court judgment in the past three years, to combine parcels, and to be willing and able to maintain the lot.
Check yourself against these screens before you spend a Saturday measuring a lot. A delinquency or an open violation on another property you own can disqualify you, and the policy will say so plainly if you read it.
Side lot programs are a separate track
Peoria’s program defines a side lot as a vacant lot currently owned by the City of Peoria that touches private property. A lot across the street or across the alley is not eligible. If you are not the adjacent owner, do not expect side lot pricing or side lot procedures to apply to you.
Allegany County’s policy includes a Side Lot Disposition Program that encourages transfer of lots to the contiguous landowner or other entities that will maintain the property, put it into productive use, and pay taxes on it. Where multiple adjacent owners want the same side lot, the policy states the lot shall either be transferred to the highest bidder or to the property owner the board feels is most capable of managing and maintaining the property. That is a discretionary standard. It is also a reason to bring a maintenance plan, not just a check.
How to read your own county’s policy
Locate these sections in the document your land bank actually uses:
- Disposition considerations and priorities—what uses the board favors.
- Transferee categories—who the board will sell to, and the bars on prior owners and delinquent owners.
- Written plan requirements—the exact contents of the submission.
- Development agreement components and enforcement mechanism.
- Pricing authority and any published schedule.
- Side lot program rules, if one exists.
- Revision date and effective date.
Then confirm the current version with staff. Allegany’s policy is marked revised 7-2019. Lima’s application states it is governed by City of Lima Land Bank Policies and Procedures effective February 1, 2026. Policies get revised. A copy you found online may not be the one the board will apply to your application.
Lima’s application also states that submission does not guarantee transfer and that all sales are subject to approval by the City of Lima Land Bank Committee and the Mayor. Approval is discretionary. Your job is to make the record the board needs to say yes: a plan that matches the policy’s priorities, financing that is committed, and a maintenance commitment you can document.
Questions to bring to the land bank manager
Ask for the current disposition policy and its effective date. Ask which track your parcel falls under—general disposition or side lot. Ask what the published price is and what fees are added at closing. Ask what the development agreement will require and what the enforcement mechanism is. Ask whether the board has denied or deferred similar applications and on what grounds. Ask how the board’s decision is recorded and whether there is an appeal or reconsideration process in the policy.
If the policy does not answer the appeal question, that is your answer: the policy is the process, and the board’s discretion is broad. Build the application accordingly.
FAQ
Can I negotiate the price?
Under the policies cited here, price is set by board action or a published schedule. Allegany County’s policy states the board sets the sale price. Lima publishes a per-square-foot schedule. Negotiation is not the mechanism; the policy is.
Do I need a development agreement for a community garden?
Allegany County’s policy requires each property transfer to be subject to a development agreement. If your county’s policy contains that requirement, a garden is a development with a schedule and a maintenance obligation. Read the policy before you assume a garden is exempt.
What if I owned the property before tax foreclosure?
Allegany County’s policy makes prior owners at the time of the tax foreclosure ineligible to be transferees of that property. Check your county’s policy for the same bar.
Is there a community benefit test I can score points on?
The retrieved policies do not use a standardized scored “community benefit test.” They use stated priorities—uses like owner-occupant housing, green space, side lots, and blight reduction—and discretionary board review. Read your county’s stated priorities and write your plan to them. Do not assume a common scoring rubric exists.
Where do I find the parcel number?
Lima’s application points applicants to the Allen County Auditor’s website for the permanent parcel number. Your county’s auditor or assessor is the equivalent source. Peoria’s program points applicants to the Peoria County GIS webpage to find the parcel ID.