How long can New Mexico property taxes go unpaid before the state sells the house?
Real property can be sold for unpaid property taxes once three years have passed since the taxes first went delinquent. The state Taxation and Revenue Department then sells it at a public auction in the county where it sits.
The owner gets notice by certified mail 20 to 30 days before the sale. The sale is called off if everything owed is paid, or an installment agreement is signed with the department, by 5 p.m. the day before.
The minimum price can't be less than all the taxes, penalties, interest and costs owed. A proper sale counts as full payment of the delinquent taxes and wipes out the tax lien.
The buyer's deed carries the former owner's interest, subject only to recorded interests that existed before the tax lien arose. Two years after the sale, the former owner can no longer go to court to challenge it.
What is left of the sale money at the end goes to the former owner, or to whoever a court names. If no former owner claims that money within two years and a reasonable search turns up no one, it is treated as abandoned property.
The Property Tax Division has no set auction calendar; it schedules sales as title research is finished and other collection efforts run out. Sale lists are posted on the division's auction page and can also be had from the county treasurer's or assessor's office; the division doesn't mail them out. Would-be bidders may look at a property only from outside its boundaries; the division doesn't allow trespassing.
Does New Mexico's special sale of abandoned property cover empty houses?
No. The tax code's "abandoned real property" means vacant lots in subdivisions platted by 1980 with taxes unpaid for at least ten years, and it leaves out property with homes or other habitable buildings.
The definition also requires a subdivision with at least five thousand delinquent lots on the state's list as of January 1, 2019.
Those lots can be offered for sale online on the Property Tax Division's website. Unlike a regular tax sale, such a lot can be offered for less than the taxes owed if the division decides the total due is more than an auction could reasonably bring.
How can a New Mexico city get a ruined or dilapidated building removed?
When a building is ruined, damaged and dilapidated, a city's governing body can pass a resolution finding it a menace to public comfort, health, peace or safety. The resolution can require the building, or the ruins and debris, to be removed.
If the owner can't be served in the city, the resolution is posted on the building and published once. The owner has ten days from getting the resolution, or from its posting and publication, to start removing the building. The other choice is to file a written objection with the city clerk and ask the governing body for a hearing.
Anyone who disagrees with the decision after the hearing can appeal to district court, starting with notice to the governing body within five days.
If the owner doesn't act, the city can remove it at the owner's expense, and the reasonable cost becomes a lien on the lot.
A city can pay a demolition contractor by giving it title to the salvageable materials instead of cash. Whoever removes the building must leave the lot clean, level and safe, with all excavations filled.
Can a New Mexico owner get a house back after a foreclosure sale?
Yes, for a time. After a court-ordered foreclosure sale, the former owner has first priority to redeem by paying the buyer what the buyer paid, plus interest, within nine months.
The mortgage itself can shorten that period to as little as one month, though a court can stretch it back to as long as nine months.
New Mexico's courts say a foreclosure case can take several months before the court makes a final decision.
The courts run a Statewide Foreclosure Settlement Program that helps homeowners and lenders reach agreements, most often loan modifications. The program's general office number is 505-841-7626.
Own a vacant New Mexico house and fallen behind on the loan? See how New Mexico's court foreclosure process works.
What is Albuquerque doing about abandoned and substandard homes?
Albuquerque's Code Enforcement Division runs a Problematic Properties Program aimed at properties that are a public nuisance to their neighborhoods. Those include abandoned or substandard homes, structurally unsound buildings and crime hotspots.
The city publishes a list of the 15 most problematic of about 300 substandard properties in Albuquerque.
City inspectors check properties for code compliance and tell owners about violations and how to fix them.
How do you report a run-down house in Albuquerque, New Mexico?
To report a housing code violation in Albuquerque, call 311 or file a report online. 311 sends the complaint to the right department to follow up and investigate; how long that takes varies.
Albuquerque's 311 line handles all non-emergency city requests; the full number is 505-768-2000.
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.