Informational Notes*: Town Owned Land Sales
October 22, 2018 5:00 pm Town Hall Annex
Town Officials Present: Kathy Stanley, Assessors
Terri Longtine, BOH & Assessors
Jim Dunbar, Treas/Coll
John Mirick, Planning Bd.
Marie Auger, Planning/Zoning/Conservation Comm
Karen Cruise, Selectboard
Nina Nazarian, T.A.
Paul Zekos, Zekos Group--Auctioneers
Paul Zekos explained that the Selectboard needs to determine priorities for the town and create a vision for this process and all must be comfortable with the process. That means deciding how much risk is tolerable. For example, is the goal the highest return possible or would it be to streamline the process. State law dictates how property is allowed to be sold by a municipality—usually direct offers are not allowed. The auction route typically believed to be faster with more potential profit/loss. The RFP (request for proposals) route requires initial investment by the town for appraisals as well as creating a rubric, and can enlist services of a Realtor, so it’s more cumbersome and time-consuming. It is similar to a silent auction but offers the ability to control conditions of the sale, such as future use of the
property such as affordable housing. Paul outlined details about how live, property auctions work, including cash a requirement for (bank check) deposit only which is not refundable and sale not subject to (approval of) financing, although the routine 30-day closing can be extended.
The auction process can take several routes: an absolute sale offer with no parameters or constraints; an offer with a published minimum bid; or a bid that may be subject to confirmation by an appointed custodian who has final approval of any bid.
Karen asked about success of any of Zekos’ recent auctions, and Paul advised that information on past sales is on their website and he cited closings in a number of nearby communities. The issue around bank foreclosure auctions was noted by resident David Cruise, who noted they often seem to be held under false pretenses when the bank simply wants to take possession with an insurmountable minimum bid. Paul noted that local banks are more likely to actually sell properties at an auction and get properties off their books, while big national banks may have a different strategy and (inexplicitly) can hold onto properties.
Paul pointed out that properties, in Princeton as well as anywhere else, are on the tax possession list for a reason—they are usually not especially desirable. He also touched upon his firm’s marketing strategies, outlining the routine vehicles such as local newspapers, Banker & Tradesman, abutter notifications, R.E. signs, online ads and other, more discretionary methods. He also mentioned preparing properties for maximum value and the group noted that it’s being done, with perc tests, title search or survey where required, wetlands flagging, etc.
The group discussed timing, and the possibility of an auction before mid-December, but it may be too late for a thoughtful process to take place. Spring will be a more realistic goal. Karen asked about advantage of parcels all sold at same time or in segments and Paul explained it depends on the variety of properties. Group also discussed potential advantage of the town splitting a sub-dividable parcel before the sale. This parcel requires a survey anyway. Initial estimate for a perimeter survey (where needed) was around $5,000 and an extra ANR lot would not add much to the cost.
Group must decide which parcels to auction and which to offer for RFPs, along with other details.
6:20 PM Adjourned
*Please note that these are not official meeting minutes of the Selectboard, given that no quorum was present on 10/22. In the interest of transparency, notes were taken and are being published, given that a Selectboard meeting was posted, which anticipated a quorum.
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