HOUSE BILL 426
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Cristina Parajón and Marian Matthews and Antonio Maestas
and Andrea Romero and Sarah Silva
AN ACT
RELATING TO PROPERTY; ENACTING A NEW SECTION OF THE MOBILE HOME PARK ACT TO REQUIRE NOTICE BEFORE THE SALE OF A MOBILE HOME PARK; CREATING AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of the Mobile Home Park Act is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SALE OF A MOBILE HOME PARK--NOTICE REQUIREMENTS--OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE.--
A. All notices pursuant to this section shall:
(1) be in writing;
(2) be sent by first-class certified mail with tracking and return receipt requested;
(3) be posted on the front door of each resident household in the mobile home park;
(4) include the material terms, conditions and amount of the offer; and
(5) include notice of the residents' rights as provided in this section.
B. Before a mobile home park may be sold, the owner shall notify each resident household of the mobile home park and the executive director of the New Mexico mortgage finance authority of any bona fide offer for a sale that the owner intends to accept.
C. The residents shall have the opportunity to purchase the mobile home park before the owner can accept the bona fide third-party offer to purchase if at least fifty-one percent of the residents:
(1) submit to the owner documentation to verify that the residents have approved the purchase of the mobile home park, including a proposed purchase and sale agreement on substantially equivalent terms and conditions of the bona fide third-party offer, within ninety days of receipt of notice of the offer sent to residents;
(2) obtain a binding commitment for any necessary financing or guarantees within an additional ninety days after execution of the purchase and sale agreement; and
(3) close on the purchase within an additional ninety days after the end of the ninety-day period provided in Paragraph (2) of this subsection.
D. An owner shall not refuse to enter into or delay the execution or closing on a purchase and sale agreement with residents who have made a bona fide offer to meet the price and substantially equivalent terms and conditions of the third-party offer. A failure by the residents to submit a purchase and sale agreement within the first ninety-day period, to obtain a binding commitment for financing within the second ninety-day period or to close on the purchase within the third ninety-day period shall terminate the residents' opportunity to purchase. The residents and the owner may extend any of the time periods provided in this section by agreement.
E. If the residents submit a proposed purchase and sale agreement that the owner does not consider to be substantially equivalent in price or in the terms and conditions of the third-party offer, the owner shall negotiate with the residents in good faith to determine if an agreement can be made that would allow the residents to purchase the mobile home park. The duty of good faith includes a duty to make the same information available to residents that the owner has provided or would have provided to the third-party offeror or another prospective purchaser. If the owner rejects the residents' proposed purchase agreement, the owner must provide a good faith reason in writing to the residents within three days of the date of rejection. It shall be presumptive evidence of bad faith if an owner attempts to, or does, require the residents to waive any of their rights.
F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an owner to provide financing to residents, except to the extent that financing would be provided to the third-party offeror. The residents who have the opportunity to purchase the mobile home park as provided in this section may assign that opportunity to purchase.
G. The opportunity to purchase created in this section shall inure to the residents beginning on the date that notice was received by the residents. Any new offer to sell or purchase the mobile home park shall initiate a new effective period for the opportunity to purchase. No opportunity to purchase shall interfere with a government taking by eminent domain or negotiated purchase.
H. An owner who has accepted a bona fide purchase and sale agreement shall record an affidavit with the county clerk of any county where the mobile home park is located certifying compliance with the requirements of this section. The affidavit shall include copies of the certified mail receipts for the notice required by this section. A recorded affidavit shall be presumptive evidence of compliance with this section and shall attach to the deed. A failure to record an affidavit shall be presumptive evidence of noncompliance with this section.
I. If the residents have submitted a proposed purchase and sale agreement that is substantially equivalent in its terms and conditions to an offer made by a bona fide third party to an owner, the residents may record an affidavit with the county clerk of any county where the mobile home park is located certifying that an offer has been made to the owner by the residents.
J. The provisions of this section shall apply to all counties and municipalities, including home rule municipalities.
K. An owner who sells a mobile home park and who has not complied with the provisions of this section shall be liable to the residents who possessed the opportunity to purchase. The liability of the owner shall be in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or twenty percent of the appraised value of the mobile home park, whichever is greater. The liability owed to the residents by the owner shall be a lien on the property and shall take priority over a third-party buyer's interest. For the purposes of this subsection, residents who possessed the opportunity to purchase shall select a real estate appraiser licensed pursuant to the Real Estate Appraisers Act and the owner shall be liable for the reasonable cost of the appraisal.
L. An action to enforce the provisions of this section may be brought by:
(1) the attorney general;
(2) a resident or residents who possess the opportunity to purchase; or
(3) a person who has been assigned the opportunity to purchase.
M. Residents who prevail in an action brought to enforce this section shall be entitled to receive reasonable attorney fees and court costs from the owner."
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