Bernalillo County reassessing vacant properties

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – From boarded up doors to broken windows, we’ve all seen vacant lots around town.

The county assessor has a list of all of nuisance properties and has a plan to clean things up.

“I quickly found out that many of the buildings that have been boarded up and sitting vacant now are actually owned by out-of-state corporations, holding companies or investment companies that are essentially using New Mexico as a write-off state to offset their real estate profits in other parts of the country,” said Damian Lara, a Bernalillo County assessor. 

In the middle of a housing crisis, Lara says vacant buildings are the last thing we need. For the last year, he has been reassessing properties on the nuisance list.

“We are assessing it as it was the highest and best use. That could be a restaurant, affordable hosing, a rental property, it could be retail stores, warehouses. We are assessing it at what it should be, not what it currently is,” said Lara.  

So, what does this mean for these out-of-state property owners?

“Normally, a higher evaluation for these specific properties will result in a higher tax bill,” Lara said. 

Lara says that isn’t always a bad thing when trying to turn vacant buildings into something.

“Reassessing vacant properties encourages and incentivizes these property owners to invest in their properties or to sell it to someone who will,” said Lara. 

There have also been some success stories, like the old Ramada Inn. 

“The property owners are coming in, working with us and saying’ you know ‘We have known that this property has been boarded up and neglected for many years, and now we are renovating it, here is the cost to cure it, will you give us credit for that,’ Absolutely,” said Lara. 

Lara says some business owners have protested their higher evaluations. But, for the most part, the program has been successful and there hasn’t been a lot of push back.