Voluntary Property Acquisition Program

Updated: April 2009

Registration for a Voluntary Property Acquisition

The Voluntary Property Acquisition Registration process is open to anyone who owns property in the Construction/Study Area and anyone who owns property beyond reasonable repair in the Neighborhood Revitalization Area. The registration period expired on July 17, 2009 .

It is NOT a first come, first serve registration process.
(The media has reported this information incorrectly.)

If you own property in the Construction/Study Area or property that is beyond reasonable repair in the Neighborhood Revitalization Area, please call (319) 286-5521 to register your current contact information. 

• This is an open registration process.
• The timing of your call will not impact the timing of the property acquisition. 
• Calls will be received Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• A representative will call you within four weeks to schedule an individual consultation meeting.

The individual consultation meetings will:

• Provide property owners with more information about the program,
• Provide an opportunity for property owners to ask questions specific to their situation,
• Confirm number of participating properties and estimated costs, and
• Speed up the acquisition process when funding becomes available.

If you own property in the Greenway Acquisition Area, you have already registered for a buyout and had an individual consultation meeting.  Letters will not be mailed to property owners in the Greenway as there is no need to register again. The City is now waiting for FEMA to award Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding to purchase your property. This funding may not be available until fall 2009.

To prepare for a Voluntary Property Acquisition, please take the following steps:

• Clean the property by removing debris from the land around the structure. 
• Locate the abstract for the property. If you cannot locate the abstract, please do not spend money to create a new one. Also, do not pay to update the abstract, as it will be taken care of by the City during the acquisition process. 
• You may also want to check your credit report to identify potential claims against the property. This information can be accessed free of charge through the Linn County Recorder’s Office or through many free credit report services.
• Please do not spend money on paperwork to prepare for the acquisition process.      

If you are not interested in a buyout, you do not have to register. This is a voluntary program and no one is required to participate. However, you can register to keep your options open. You may choose to withdraw from the process at any time before the closing.

As a reminder, the Voluntary Property Acquisition program will use the pre-flood assessed value of your property, not the current assessed value, to purchase the property.