Sale of City-Owned Property

Procedure

1. Application: All parties interested in purchasing City-owned real property must submit a completed Application to Purchase City-Owned Property to the Office of Real Estate & Property Information along with a $250 deposit. The request should include the name, mailing address, phone number, and email of the prospective buyer as well as the property address, Parcel ID Number and an explanation for the request and/or use for the property. If the interested party is able to purchase the property, the $250 deposit shall be deducted from the total purchase price of the property. If the requestor is not the winning bidder, they may request a refund for the full amount in writing within 30 days of the City Commission’s decision.
2. Property Ownership Verification: City staff will log the request and verify property ownership. If the property is City-owned, staff will notify internal City Departments (Community Redevelopment, Housing, Parks & Recreation, Planning) about request for purchase and communicate with all public and private utilities as well as internal City Departments to determine if the property is required for current or future planned use.
3. Staff Review: If the staff review demonstrates that the property should not be sold because of a current or planned use for the property, the requestor shall be notified in writing and the deposit refunded.
4. Property Appraiser's Assessment: If the requested property is not needed for public use, a property value will be established by using a percentage of the Property Appraiser’s assessed value or through a current appraisal.
5. Sale of Property/Listing: If the property can be sold, the requestor will be notified in writing by the Office of Real Estate & Property Information and the request will be sent to the City’s Purchasing Division to be processed. The Purchasing Division will publicly advertise the subject property for sale for a period of two weeks and will accept purchase bids during this period. After the two weeks, the Purchasing Department will provide all acceptable bids to the Office of Real Estate & Property Information. Bids not meeting the minimum acceptable criteria will not be considered.
6. Acceptable Bid & Meeting with Real Estate and Transportation Committee: With an acceptable bid, the Office of Real Estate and Property Information will schedule a meeting with the City Commission’s Real Estate and Transportation Committee, which meets as needed twice per month prior to the regularly scheduled City Commission agenda study session. Acceptable bid(s) will be presented to the City’s Real Estate and Transportation Committee for their consideration and will be approved by the Commission through the meeting minutes of the Committee.
7. Agreement of Sale: With an approval by the City Commission, the successful bidder will sign the Agreement of Sale, stating that the successful bidder will make full payment within thirty (30) days after the sale. The City Attorney’s office will prepare the associated Quit Claim Deed for the property and shall collect the agreed upon sales price for the property in the City Attorney’s Office on the 3rd floor of City Hall. Final settlement must be cash, Certified Check, Cashier’s Check or Money Order made payable to the City of Lakeland. In the event the successful bidder does not complete the purchase, the deposit shall be retained by the City and the City shall have the option to offer the property to the next highest bidder.
8. Property Taxes/Title: All properties are sold in an "AS IS" condition. The City recommends a title search be done on property purchased, as the City Charter prevents us from providing a General Warranty Deed. Buyers can go to any Title Company of their choice. Property taxes will be assessed from the date of the deed.

Sale Procedures (PDF)