New Mexico Foreclosure Prevention Efforts
For 2009, New Mexico ranked 32nd among all states in foreclosure rate, an increase of 93.51% from the year before. Nationally, 2009 was the worse year for foreclosures in US history, with 2.8 million property owners receiving a foreclosure notice.
The process begins with a foreclosure complaint filed with the court then personally served on the borrower which requires a response within 30 days. If the borrower cannot be served in person, the lender publishes a notice in a local paper for four weeks. Borrowers have 20 days from the last publication date to respond. If the time for a response has expired without a reply from the borrower, the court enters a judgment against the homeowner.
In New Mexico, foreclosure is judicial.
If the court decides against the borrower, the lender publishes a notice of a sale date at least 30 days after the ruling. The notice must be published once a week, for four consecutive weeks in a local newspaper with the final publication at least 3 days before the sale date.
At any time before the foreclosure sale the borrower may forestall it by paying all arrears, costs, interest and legal fees. After a sale is approved by the court for at least 80% of the property’s fair market value, the borrower has a month to redeem the property, extending to 9 months in some cases. Deficiency judgments are allowed.
In 2009, an attempt was made to pass the New Mexico Mortgage Fair Foreclosure Act which would have given borrowers facing foreclosure access to various alternative ways to prevent foreclosure including loss mitigation, settlement conferences or mediation. The bill died.
New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, MFA, is the state’s official housing agency for low to moderate income New Mexicans. Its primary goal is to distribute low interest mortgage money to prospective homeowners, funded through tax exempt mortgage bonds. It urges eligible distressed borrowers to first turn to the national Home Affordable Modification and Home Affordable Refinance programs.
For additional help, MFA suggests turning to these agencies for help in paying both mortgage and utility bills:
- Catholic Charities, Albuquerque, 505-247-0442
- The Life Link, Santa Fe, 505-438-0010
- Mesilla Valley Community of Hope, Las Cruces, 575-523-2219
- Metropolitan Homelessness Project, Albuquerque, 505-344-2323
- The Salvation Army - Albuquerque, Albuquerque, 505-881-4292
- San Juan County Partnership, Farmington, 505-566-5867
- St. Elizabeth Shelter, Santa Fe, 505-982-6611
- St. Martin’s Hospitality Center, Albuquerque, 505-242-4399
- Youth Development Inc., Albuquerque, 505-831-6038
MFA cautions distressed borrowers about turning to for profit mortgage assistance agencies. Instead it recommends The United South Broadway Corporation and HOME New Mexico for assistance counseling:
3900 Osuna Rd., NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Phone: (505) 889-9486
Fax: (505) 889-2706
email: elaine@homenewmexico.org
HOME New Mexico is dedicated to those coping with disabilities. Consultation is by appointment only.
The United South Broadway Corporation
1500 Water St SE
Albuquerque, NM 87125
505-764-8867 voice
505.764.9121 fax
email usbc@unm.edu
The United South Broadway Corporation is also recommended by Gary K. King, the New Mexico Attorney General who says this non-profit community development organization will interview homeowners and conduct referrals to attorneys who have agreed to work on foreclosure prevention at no cost for low income New Mexicans. The AG offers two free publications for avoiding foreclosure on this page.
Another options is to request help from these non-profit organizations recommended by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.
New Mexico Legal Aid is a non profit legal center offering free advice to poor people in legal difficulty, including foreclosures.
PO Box 25486
Albuquerque, NM 87125
Phone: (505) 243-7871
Fax: (505) 842-9684
