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16 U.S.C. § 3

U.S. CodeFederal
[Manner of Disposal Priority of Purchasers; Terms of Sale]
About This Law
pg_id_26338::119-84
Title
16 — Conservation
Chapter
CH12D
Release
119-84
Release Date
2026-04-17

Section Text

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. (a) All land authorized to be sold under section 2 of this Act which, when offered for sale, is occupied by improvements owned by the United States shall be sold with the improvements in place.“(b) Of the property authorized to be sold under section 2 of this Act, lands in the town area occupied by dwelling units shall be sold in accordance with the following terms and conditions:“(1) First priority to purchase shall be given to the tenant of the United States in the town area who occupies the land and dwelling unit to be sold. The land and dwelling unit shall be offered at the appraised value as established under section 5 less any applicable discounts under this Act. This right of priority shall expire unless a deposit of earnest money in an amount to be fixed by the Secretary is received by him before the expiration of sixty days after the date on which the property has been offered for sale, and the right of priority shall be deemed abandoned unless within an additional one hundred and eighty days the prospective purchaser shall have signed a contract to purchase the property.“Any tenant having a priority under (1) who desires to continue to rent the property occupied by him rather than to purchase it may assign his priority to a person who has entered into a valid contract to lease the property back to him. The Secretary may permit such other assignments of priorities under (1) as he finds to be fair and equitable. Assignments under this paragraph shall be subject to such general rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, including denial, in any instance where the Secretary in his judgment finds it proper, to the assignee concerned, or his successors, assigns, or legal representatives, of any discount in or rebate of the purchase price to which such person or persons would otherwise be entitled under this Act. “(2) Second priority to purchase shall apply to property in the town area not purchased under (1) and shall be given to persons who are tenants of the United States in Federal housing in the town area or who would meet the requirements for eligibility to become such tenants under the most recent regulations of the Bureau of Reclamation for the assignment of persons to Federal housing in the town area. Applicants to purchase shall be placed in order of opportunity to choose pursuant to a public drawing, but spouses of such applicants shall not be entitled to apply. Sales shall be at the appraised value as established under section 5, less applicable discounts under this Act. Selection of dwelling units by successful applicants, to be accompanied by a deposit of earnest money fixed as under (1), shall be concluded within limits of time established by the Secretary, and thereafter the purchase shall be concluded in the same manner as provided under (1). A purchase under (1) or (2) shall render the purchaser and any spouse of such purchaser ineligible thereafter to purchase under either (1) or (2). “(3) Property not sold under (1) or (2) shall be opened to bids from the general public and shall be sold to the highest responsible bidder. “(c)(1) Of the property authorized to be sold under section 2 of this Act, land in the town area occupied by privately owned improvements shall be offered for sale to the owner of such improvements at the appraised value as established under section 5 less applicable discounts under this Act. This preference right shall expire unless a deposit of earnest money in an amount to be fixed by the Secretary is received by the Secretary before the expiration of sixty days after the date on which the property has been offered for sale, and thereafter the purchase shall be concluded in the same manner as provided under subsection (b)(1) of this section. “(2) Land not purchased by the owner of the improvements (except church or hospital improvements) thereon under (1) shall be made available for sale for a period of thirty days to those eligible for purchase under subsection (f) of this section, and thereafter shall be opened to bids from the general public and sold to the highest responsible bidder. “(3) Land with church or hospital improvements thereon which has not been purchased by the owners of the improvements under (1) may be disposed of by advertising and competitive bids, or by negotiated sale or other transfer at such prices and on such other terms and conditions as the Secretary shall determine to be fair and equitable. “(d)(1) Of the property authorized to be sold under section 2 of this Act, land in the town area occupied by improvements owned by the United States other than dwelling units shall be offered to the lessee of the United States in such improvements at the appraised value as established under section 5 less applicable discounts under this Act: Provided, That where there is more than one lessee in a given improvement and the Secretary finds it impractical to offer each lessee an interest in the property, the Secretary, pursuant to such standards as he deems appropriate, shall designate an order of priority among such lessees for acceptance of the offer of sale of such property, which shall be sold at the appraised value as established under section 5 less applicable discounts under this Act and pursuant to such other terms and conditions as the Secretary deems proper. Any preference or priority right under this paragraph shall expire unless a deposit of earnest money in an amount to be fixed by the Secretary is received by the Secretary before the expiration of sixty days after the date on which the property has been offered for sale, and thereafter the purchase shall be concluded in the same manner as provided under subsection (b)(1) of this section. “(2) Property referred to in (1) which is not under lease granted by the United States or which has not been purchased under (1) shall be made available for sale for a period of thirty days to those eligible for purchase under subsection (f) of this section and thereafter may be opened to bids from the general public and sold to the highest responsible bidder. “(e) Of the property authorized to be sold under section 2 of this Act, land in the town area which has not been improved or land from which the improvements have been removed shall be sold in accordance with the following terms and conditions.“(1) Residential property in the town area shall be offered for sale to persons who are tenants of the United States in Federal housing in the town area or who would meet the requirements for eligibility to become such tenants under the most recent regulations of the Bureau of Reclamation for the assignment of persons to Federal housing in the town area. Applicants to purchase shall be placed in order of opportunity to choose pursuant to a public drawing. No application shall be accepted from the spouse of any applicant or from a person, or the spouse of such person, who owns, has owned, or has contracted to buy other residential property in the town area. Sales shall be at the appraised value as established under section 5 less applicable discounts under this Act, and selection and purchase under this priority by successful applicants shall be concluded within limits of time to be established by the Secretary. Residential property which is not sold under the preceding provisions of this subsection shall be open to bids from the general public and shall be sold to the highest responsible bidder. “(2) Property which at the time of sale is zoned for other than residential use, except such as is disposed of under subsection (f) of this section and land with church or hospital improvements thereon, shall be open to bids from the general public and shall be sold to the highest responsible bidder. “(f) Of the property in the town area authorized to be sold under section 2 of this Act, except that which is covered by subsections (b), (c)(3), and (e)(1) of this section, land not purchased by the holders of a priority or preference under this section shall, for thirty days following the period during which holders of a priority or preference could purchase the same, be offered for sale at the appraised value as established under section 5 less applicable discounts under this Act to persons leasing property in the town area from the United States for business or commercial uses. The Secretary may, in his discretion, permit more than one lot to be included in a single purchase, but only if the property to be purchased is compact and contiguous. If two or more applicants to purchase under this subsection desire the same property, their order of opportunity to purchase shall be determined pursuant to a public drawing. A purchase under this subsection shall render the purchaser and any spouse of such purchaser ineligible either to make an additional purchase under this subsection or to purchase the business or commercial property he is renting from the United States. “(g) Any improvement owned by the United States located on lands in the town area subject to being purchased by the holder of a priority or preference right hereunder and not purchased, after being offered for sale, within one year following the expiration of the period within which the priority or preference right can be exercised, may be opened to bids from the general public and may be sold to the highest responsible bidder. “(h) In all public sales of property under this Act to the highest responsible bidder, which shall include all sales of property to be sold in the Grand Coulee area, the Secretary shall reserve the right to reject all bids; and, in the event all bids are less than the appraised value of the property as established under section 5 or in the event no bids are received, the property shall be available for sale to the first taker from the general public at not less than aforesaid appraised value until all such property has been sold. “(i)(1) Whenever the Secretary, on presentation of adequate evidence by a prospective purchaser or purchasers under subsections (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section, shall determine that financing of purchases on reasonable terms cannot be arranged from other sources, he is authorized to enter into contracts with such purchasers under which the purchaser would not be required to make a downpayment of more than 10 per centum of the appraised value of the property as established under section 5 less applicable discounts under this Act and the remainder of the repayment obligation shall be paid on terms as to amount, repayment period, installments, and interest rate not more favorable to the purchasers than those which would be available were the purchases to be financed under mortgages eligible for insurance under subsection 223(a) of the National Housing Act, as herein amended [section 1715n(a) of Title 12]: Provided, That the Secretary may increase the interest rate by additional components equal to the premium being charged (and any periodic service charge being authorized by the Federal Housing Commissioner for property of a similar character) under subsection 223(a) of the National Housing Act, as herein amended [section 1715n(a) of Title 12], at the effective date of the aforesaid contracts. “(2) Whenever the Secretary, on presentation of adequate evidence by a prospective purchaser or purchasers under subsections (c)(1), (d)(1), or (f) of this section, shall determine that financing of purchases on reasonable terms cannot be arranged from other sources, he is authorized to enter into contracts with such purchasers under which the purchaser would not be required to make a down payment of more than 10 per centum of the appraised value of the property as established under section 5, less applicable discounts under this Act. The remainder of the repayment obligation shall be paid with such terms as to amount, repayment period, installments, and interest rate as the Secretary shall determine to be fair and equitable. “(3) The Secretary may assign any installment contract under this section at such times and on such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate. Any such assignment made at a discount shall be defeasible if within sixty days after receipt of notification of such assignment the original obligor of the assigned contract, or his successors, assigns, or legal representative, shall cause to be received by the Secretary a tender of the amount for which such assignment was made, in which event such tender shall be accepted as full payment of the contract. “(j) Except in the case of property sold to the highest responsible bidder under this section or property sold to the first taker from the general public under subsection (h) of this section or by negotiated sale under subsection (c)(3) of this section, persons purchasing property under this section or their successors, assigns, or legal representatives, shall be entitled to a discount in the purchase price at the time they enter into a purchase contract equal to 5 per centum of its appraised value as established under section 5 and, in the event of incorporation of the municipality within four years from the date of this Act [Aug. 30, 1957], they shall be entitled to an additional discount in the purchase price (or rebate as appropriate) equal to 10 per centum of the aforesaid appraised value. “(k) In establishing rules and regulations governing sales of property in the town area under this section, and in determining the terms and conditions of such sales other than those prescribed in this Act, the Secretary shall consult with the representatives of the Coulee Dam Community as determined by him.

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