Albany County adopts updated disposition plan for properties acquired through delinquent tax foreclosure

Albany County adopted an updated disposition plan for property acquired through the interim delinquent tax foreclosure process, a change staff said aligns county practice with recent state law and reduces litigation risk.

The nut graf: County counsel and Real Property staff told the committee that a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision and subsequent 2024 changes to New York law require counties to address surplus distribution and reprioritize returns-to-former-owners in foreclosure disposition plans; the updated plan also clarifies the county’s authority under New York Real Property Tax Law §1066 and references section 1197 on public sales.

Jeff Veil (staff) summarized the changes: the updated plan reserves the county’s rights under state law to determine transfers it deems appropriate, establishes a priority for returning properties to former owners to resolve equity issues, and references the public sale process to mitigate exposure to lawsuits alleging under-market sales.

Committee members had no further questions and the plan passed on a motion and second with one recorded dissent on a later item in the meeting (not for this plan).

Ending: Staff said the revised plan is intended to protect the county from current and future litigation about foreclosure sale prices and to provide a clear process for returning property or proceeding to public sale as required by state law.