LOUISIANA New Orleans City Owned Real Estate Sales

City Surplus Real Estate Auctions

CITY-OWNED PROPERTY (REAL ESTATE)

https://nola.gov/city-owned-property/

Sales process for city-owned property

The City may sell (through public auction) immovable property (real estate) that is no longer needed for public purpose. These particular auctions are different than the Sheriff’s auctions or NORA’s auctions. The process for bringing property any city owned property to auction is lengthy. The steps are as follows:

  1. The Department of Property Management, through the Division of Real Estate and Records, locates property that the City is not using. A constituent may bring a request regarding a particular property to the Division and request that it be sold at public auction.
  2. If the property is deemed saleable, the requested sale is presented to the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) for review, comments, and recommendations. If any city department may determine that the property is still needed for public use then the sale will not move forward.
  3. If approved by PAC, the requested sale is then submitted to the City Planning Commission (CPC) for approval or denial. CPC may deny, approve, or conditionally approve the auction of a property. CPC may place provisos on the sale of the property, which will require that certain terms and/or obligations are met prior to or as part of the sale.
  4. If the sale is approved or conditionally approved with provisos, the property is appraised to determine fair market value.
  5. After a value is determined, the auction of the property must be approved by the City Council. An ordinance containing the property description, appraised value, and any provisos set by the CPC is introduced to the City Council.
  6. If the Ordinance is passed and approved by the Mayor, an auction date and time is set and an advertisement runs in the Times Picayune Newspaper three times over a span of thirty days. The property may have an “open house” during this period.
  7. At least thirty days after the ordinance has been signed by the Mayor, the property auction is held. The starting bid is the fair market value of the property. Auctions are held in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
  8. A winning bidder must deposit 10% of the winning bid amount with the Real Estate and Records Division (Room 5W06) within one (1) hour of the completion of the auction. The deposit must be in cash, certified check, or money order and is NON-REFUNDABLE. If a deposit is not timely made, the property is offered to the second highest bidder.
  9. The act of sale is sent to the City Law Department for review and signature. The purchaser typically has 120 days to coordinate with the Law Department to complete the sale. If there is a proviso attached to the property sale by the CPC, it will become part of the act of sale. The remainder of the payment, as well as costs associated with promogulation of the ordinance and advertising are all due at the signing of the act of sale.