The City of Buffalo will be holding their In Rem auction on October 26th - 28th, at the Buffalo and Erie County Convention Center. The link above will take you to the City site where you can register as well as upload a list of properties that will be auctioned.
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As always, the City's main focus is on helping people to stay in their homes, but often, letters of foreclosure leading up to the auction are ignored, and sometimes the occupant, fearing removal, flees before finding out what resources are available to them to help them keep their homes.
Despite the efforts of organizations like Neighborhood Housing Services and the Western New York Law Center, along with the cooperation of area banks, low-income homeowners are often unaware that help is available until it's too late. It should be noted that In Rem houses being offered through the City were foreclosed on due to taxes, user fees and water bills in arrears, while the above entities deal with mortgage foreclosure. Often, however, losing a home is a multi-layered financial problem that involves both bank loans and late taxes, sometimes forcing the banks and the City to work together to help homeowners stay put.
The City, with a growing stock of abandoned homes that inch toward the 5 in 5 demo plan, year after year, has little interest in taking possession of housing that could be kept up and add to the tax base.
In a city where preservationists rail against demolition, while neighbors want adjacent vacant structures to come down, the best possible scenario is to have the homes remain occupied. Still, with a drastically lowered population, the task of keeping homes inhabited is more daunting than collecting taxes.
That being said, the In Rem auction is often a good way for new homeowners to buy a property that has potential, often in neighborhoods that already have good bones. Click here for an Excel listing of available properties, and then take a drive around the neighborhoods. You may find what you're looking for at a great price, with neighbors that are happy to see you arrive.
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