Can a Nevada county sell an abandoned house faster when the taxes go unpaid?
Yes. If the county tax receiver investigates a property with unpaid taxes and finds it abandoned, the county can use a faster sale process. For a property found abandoned this way, the county treasurer holds it for one year after the first Monday in June of the certificate's year, unless it is redeemed sooner.
A property counts as abandoned when at least two signs from a list in the law are shown, such as no one appearing to live there at the inspection. Other signs on the list include utilities shut off or unpaid for over a year and several windows boarded up or smashed. So do copper or fixtures stripped out, and a police report of trespassing or vandalism there in the last six months.
The tax receiver's staff can walk the land to check, but can't go inside any house or other building. The owner gets a notice by certified and first-class mail and has 30 days to contact the tax receiver, or the property is treated as abandoned.
An owner who disagrees can ask the district court to review the decision within 30 days of getting it.
How long does a Nevada owner have to catch up on property taxes before the county takes title?
When taxes go unpaid, the county treasurer holds the property in trust for two years after the first Monday in June of the certificate's year, unless the owner pays up sooner.
If no one redeems the property in time, the tax receiver deeds it to the county treasurer, who holds it in trust. Even after that deed, certain people the law lists can have the property handed back by paying the taxes, costs, penalties and interest. Those people include the owner, the lender on a deed of trust or mortgage, and a judgment creditor.
The county commissioners can order the treasurer to sell the property, after notice, for no less than the taxes, costs, penalties and interest owed.
What the county spends to clean up a nuisance on property it holds for unpaid taxes is charged against that property.
How can a Nevada city or county make an owner fix or secure a dangerous building?
A Nevada city can adopt an ordinance that lets it order a property owner to repair, secure or remove a dangerous structure or condition. County commissioners have the same kind of power: by ordinance, a county can order an owner to repair, secure or remove a dangerous structure.
The owner gets a certified-mail notice describing the problem and the date it must be fixed by.
If the city does the work itself, it can make the cost and any civil penalties a special assessment on the property, collected like county property taxes.
What counts as an abandoned nuisance in a Nevada city, and what can a court order?
Under Nevada's abandoned-nuisance law, it is a property with a building that has sat vacant or mostly vacant for at least a year and has had two or more nuisance activities in any 12 months. The city attorney can ask the court for repair, securing or demolition of the building where the abandoned nuisance is.
A city in a county of 100,000 people or more can set up procedures for its city attorney to take an abandoned nuisance to court. Those activities include break-ins or squatters, and graffiti, trash, debris, dead vehicles or junk appliances.
For a residential property, the court can impose a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day the owner leaves the nuisance in place past the deadline.
Can a Nevada court put a receiver in charge of a house in foreclosure?
Once a notice of breach and election to sell has been filed under a deed of trust, the trustee or the lender can ask the district court to appoint a receiver for the property. The court must appoint one when, among other reasons, the property is in danger of substantial waste or its personal property could be lost or destroyed.
The trustee can't sell under a deed of trust until the lender has given the go-ahead and at least three months have passed since the notice was recorded.
Holding an empty Nevada house on a deed of trust that has fallen behind? See how the trustee-sale process works in Nevada.
Can a Nevada HOA step in to keep up a vacant home in foreclosure?
Yes. Once the lender files a court foreclosure or records a notice of breach and election to sell, the association may, after notice and a chance for a hearing, enter the grounds of the home, vacant or not.
It can do that to keep up the outside of the home to the community's standards when the owner fails to act within the time the association set after the hearing.
A lender with a security interest in a home in an HOA community must give the association its contact information within 30 days of taking either step.
How do you report a neglected vacant foreclosure in Las Vegas, Nevada?
Las Vegas asks neighbors to report a vacant foreclosure that isn't registered or isn't being kept up, by email to Code Enforcement. You can also call the city at 702 229-5154, Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Since May 2021 the city itself has hosted its Abandoned Property Registry, formerly called the Las Vegas Foreclosure Registry. The registry's list of properties is built from foreclosure records at the Clark County Recorder's Office.
For other code problems, Las Vegas Code Enforcement takes calls at 702.229.6615 (select 3), Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.