Rundown houses may be sold for renovation or demolished in Oneonta

The Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank hopes to list one of its Oneonta properties by the end of October, while another may be demolished.

Tolga Morawski, land bank executive director, spoke about the distressed properties at the Otsego County Board of Representatives meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2.

The land bank works with properties that are abandoned or in extreme disrepair to either restore and sell the properties or deconstruct the buildings and prepare the land for sale.

Morawski discussed the houses in the land bank’s inventory at 50 Elm St. and 62 Elm St. in Oneonta, the fates of which he said were of great interest to the community.

The land bank is reviewing applications for buyers interested in renovating 50 Elm St. and wants to make a decision by the end of October.

The challenges for the house at 62 Elm St., formerly the Alpha Delta Omega fraternity house, include mold and the the fact that the house was partitioned into many rooms.

The estimated cost to renovate it back to a single-family home would be $500,000.

“We are considering this factor and weighing our decisions on how far we can get, or we’ll have to take down the property,” Morawski said.

There have been some questions about security and people entering into some properties, he said.

“Some of the properties have been abandoned for a long time,” he said, “and even though they are locked, they can attract curious people who figure out to get in and take pictures or selfies.”

Morawski said that the land bank is working on a new website that is almost completed, and it will provide more information and answers to questions than the previous website.

“We want to explain what happens when a property comes in and the process that we need to address, the time that it takes, so that people understand,” Morawski said.

Each property that the land bank acquires has to tested for asbestos and lead, followed by a clean-out process of the property, which is a safety issue and the land bank protocol.

“After these steps, if the property is viable, we will then market the property,” Morawski said. “It takes a certain buyer to consider these types of properties, and we can’t sell them until all abatement issues are dealt with.”

He said that sometimes people will see a blighted or abandoned property listing and buy such a house for cheap, but quickly discover they are over their heads when trying to fix up the property.

“They either try to sell it or become delinquent on taxes, which is challenging for the county and also affects property values,” Morawski said.

Morawski also gave an update on properties in Gilbertsville and Milford, both of which need to be demolished.

“The Milford property has been vacant for years,” Morawski said. “It was acquired by the village. There is an MOU with the village to move forward with the demolition because it’s not safe.”

“We will work with the village and help them after the demo,” he added. “As to what to do with the properties, we may be able to build new buildings at both locations.”

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