Here’s a view of the property at 329 Pine St. S.E, on the evening of Aug. 1, 2025.
Three years ago the city of Albany condemned a manufactured house on Pine Street as a “derelict structure.” Now a prospective new owner hopes to turn the place into somebody’s home once again.
The property at 329 Pine St. S.E. is right next to a pedestrian crossing of the Portland & Western and Union Pacific railroad tracks. On bike rides through the Willamette Neighborhood, I pass the address from time to time, as I did again on Aug. 1.
On June 5, the Linn County sheriff sold the property at auction to satisfy a judgment the city had obtained for liens against the former owner over code violations that were not fixed.
Joe Evans, of Eugene, was the only bidder and bought the property for $60,000. But he doesn’t quite own it yet. Under Oregon law the former owner, identified on county records as Walter L. Lund of Lebanon, has six months to buy the property back. If there is no buy-back, the purchaser gets the deed on Dec. 5, 2025.
“I am not sure what we will do with the home yet,” Evans told me via email. “We bought it with the intention of fixing up and making whole again. We hoped to offer it at a reasonable price so someone in the community could benefit with a new home.”
But he has run into complications he had not foreseen. He wasn’t specific but wrote:
“This is the first time our family has attempted to do something like this, but we wanted to do something to help and find ways to reinvest in communities. We are not a wealthy family and lack much experience, and what I will share with you is we are learning a lot in this process… My hope as we try to figure everything out is that we can at least fix it up and make [it] into a rental, and hopefully soon, but only time will tell.”
Well, let’s wish the Evans family success in what they are hoping to do. (hh)
Here’s another view of the boarded-up dwelling and the carport that goes with it.
Best of luck to them with this endeavor! It is fantastic to see people investing in the community.
No one sees anything wrong with taking peoples homes instead of helping the person
with repairs. Why do people donate to homeless shelters but do not help people keep their homes? Homelessness starts somewhere. Economic hardship caused by illness, job loss or other issues are to blame in many cases. He should not have to buy his own home back. This is not a happy ending for Mr. Lund. It is a horrible community that thinks taking advantage of people’s misfortune is blessing for someone else.
Well… At least he is trying to do something about the manufactured home Mr.Lund has six mo. to rectify it. If not???? The Evans family should live there and fix it up. It would look
great for the neighbor hood.
Couldn’t you actually say the same about Kotek, and our mayors? The construction slithers in, and as Kotek signed, they use accelerated building, eminent domain, to put up ” in demand housing”. What do you think those houses will look like when people can’t afford a house let alone the up keep in 3-5 years? Mr. Lund can maybe rent it back?
Quotes from articles:
Municipalities set up these “taxation by citation” schemes to bolster city budgets—not protect public health and safety. Schemes like this are rife with due process problems. Code enforcement systems in many cities make it very easy to incur ever increasing amounts of fines and fees—while erecting barriers that make it very difficult to challenge them. One thing that’s never been exposed is how municipalities extort every possible dime from residents through city utilities. “When states and municipalities rely on fines and fees to generate revenue, it’s a lose-lose situation for both residents and their government. Attempting to collect debt from people who don’t have any money is like getting blood from a stone.” If local governments depend on these citations for funding public services, law enforcement agencies and courts could be encouraged to aggressively issue citations and fines. This in turn can lead to a misallocation of resources as law enforcement agencies focus on collecting funds rather than on other public safety tasks. When communities view their courts and police departments as exploitative (what some call “police for profit”), their confidence in the criminal justice system is undermined.
None of that is the case in Albany.
Missing info… how much was owed to satisfy license and taxes, $60k? Surely city doesn’t recieve a windfall through foreclosure by condemnation
Mr. Hering, many people I have worked for and/or know live in fear of the city. They are average citizens that have valid reasons to think that way. I believe their experiences as I have witnessed most of them. I respect you enough to value your opinion on that you have experienced. I wish that you respected people enough to acknowledge their experiences and not make blanket statements that devalue their struggles. As always my kiddos have learned the hard reality from your blog concerning the treatment of people less fortunate. While people chase drug addicts around trying to save them, regular folks are subject to harsh treatment when life gets hard and they cannot live the way that they would choose.
Mr. Hering, Thank you for correcting some typing errors and qualifying some information. We do appreciate your efforts to be objective when reporting but some efforts communicating with city are not always successful as you have recently noted. Everyone would wish for a successful city government and understand that money is needed. Most of the city efforts are not investments that create sustainable funds. Recouping funds from the city’s mistakes by making money off of other people who make mistakes is a very negative way to support a city. Making only the citizens suffer and accountable for their mistakes while the city gets off scott-free is just another way to rob Peter to pay Paul. If I made the mistakes or misrepresented the facts in my job as the city does I would not only be out of a job but sued for misleading customers. Losers weepers, finders keepers should not be a city’s way to pay its inflated costs.