New Mexico CIC Assessment Lien Super-Priority Calculator — Six-Month UCIOA Super-Priority (NMSA § 47-7C-316)

How this calculator works

This is a super-priority computation tool for New Mexico common-interest community assessment liens under the New Mexico Condominium Act (NMSA § 47-7A-1 et seq.) and the parallel New Mexico HOA Act (NMSA § 47-16-1 et seq.). Given the monthly assessment, months delinquent, payments to date, first-mortgage balance, and the late charges, interest, fees, and costs accrued, it returns:

1. The six-month SUPER-PRIORITY dollar amount under NMSA § 47-7C-316(b) — six months of common-expense assessments based on the periodic budget that would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien. This amount is PRIOR TO the first security interest on the unit at the judicial sale.
2. The SUB-PRIORITY amount — the remaining assessments plus all late charges, interest, attorneys fees, and costs. This amount is junior to the first mortgage and recovery depends on equity after the first mortgage at the foreclosure sale.
3. The total lien, the months of assessments actually covered by the super-priority window, and the estimated equity for the sub-priority recovery analysis.

Use the calculator before sending a demand letter to confirm the recoverable amount, before instructing counsel to file the foreclosure complaint to size the super-priority position, and during settlement negotiations to anchor the floor of association recovery.

The relevant NMSA § 47-7 statute

The New Mexico Condominium Act lives at NMSA 1978 § 47-7A-1 through § 47-7D-301 and is structured on the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act model. The parallel New Mexico HOA Act for planned communities lives at NMSA § 47-16-1 et seq. Both regimes apply the UCIOA assessment-lien framework with the six-month super-priority.

NMSA § 47-7C-316(a) — Statutory association assessment lien. The association has a lien on each unit for unpaid common-expense assessments levied against the unit. The lien attaches AUTOMATICALLY when the assessment becomes due. No filing or recording is required to perfect the lien against the unit owner.

NMSA § 47-7C-316(b) — Six-month super-priority. The association lien is PRIOR TO the first security interest on the unit TO THE EXTENT of the common-expense assessments based on the periodic budget that would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien. This is the UCIOA super-priority window — the structural advantage of New Mexico CIC enforcement over non-UCIOA states.

NMSA § 47-7C-316(c) — Recording. Recording of the declaration constitutes record notice and perfection of the lien. No further recording is required.

NMSA § 47-7C-316(d) — Reasonable costs and fees. The lien includes reasonable attorneys fees and costs of collection in addition to the unpaid assessments. These additional amounts share the SUB-PRIORITY position; the super-priority covers ASSESSMENTS only.

NMSA § 47-7C-316(e) — Three-year statute of limitations. The association must enforce the lien within three years after the full amount of the assessments becomes due, or the lien is extinguished.

New Mexico-specific gotchas (judicial-only foreclosure with 9-month redemption — one of country's longest)

JUDICIAL-ONLY FORECLOSURE. New Mexico uses EXCLUSIVELY JUDICIAL foreclosure for assessment liens under NMSA § 39-5-1 et seq. There is no nonjudicial power-of-sale pathway available regardless of what the declaration says. The foreclosure complaint runs through the New Mexico district court for the county where the property is located. Service follows Rule 1-004 NMRA. End-to-end timing from complaint filing through judgment and sale typically runs 12-15 months.

NINE-MONTH REDEMPTION PERIOD UNDER NMSA § 39-5-18. This is the trap. New Mexico's NINE-MONTH redemption period is one of the longest in the country — comparable only to Iowa twelve-month redemption. The redemption runs from the date of sale, not from confirmation. During the redemption window the former owner may recover the property by paying the sale price plus 10% per annum interest. The foreclosure-sale purchaser cannot deliver clear title for nine months. Bidders at New Mexico judicial sales typically discount their bids by 10-15% to account for the redemption-encumbered title and carrying costs.

SUPER-PRIORITY COVERS SIX MONTHS, NOT MORE. The NMSA § 47-7C-316(b) super-priority window is exactly six months. Even if the owner is delinquent for nine, twelve, or twenty-four months, only six months of assessments are primed ahead of the first mortgage. The remaining months of assessments plus all fees and costs sit in the sub-priority position. Aggressive collection counsel sometimes calendar the lien-enforcement filing to maximize the super-priority capture — six months of accumulated delinquency before filing produces a fully-loaded super-priority amount.

THREE-YEAR LIEN-ENFORCEMENT SOL UNDER NMSA § 47-7C-316(e). New Mexico imposes a three-year statute of limitations specifically on lien enforcement — significantly shorter than the general six-year contract SOL under NMSA § 37-1-3. The three-year clock runs from the date the full amount of the assessments becomes due. Aged delinquencies that span more than three years risk lien extinguishment on the older months even though the underlying assessment claim survives as a personal claim against the owner. Personal claims without lien priority rarely produce meaningful recovery from underwater units. Calendar the three-year deadline carefully.

NEW MEXICO DOES NOT LICENSE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS. Florida (LCAM), Illinois (CAM), Nevada (CAM), Virginia (CIC manager), and California (CCAM) all require state licensure of CAMs. New Mexico does not. The compliance work falls to the association attorney and the managing agent under contract. Industry associations (Community Associations Institute New Mexico chapter; Greater Albuquerque CAI) offer voluntary professional designations (CMCA, AMS, PCAM) but they are not state licenses. Boards should expect to engage the association attorney earlier in the delinquency cycle than in states with licensed CAMs.

SUPER-PRIORITY APPLIES TO BOTH CONDOMINIUMS AND PLANNED COMMUNITIES. Both the New Mexico Condominium Act (NMSA § 47-7A-1+) and the New Mexico HOA Act (NMSA § 47-16-1+) apply the UCIOA assessment-lien framework. Practitioners coming from states that treat condominium and HOA liens differently (Florida, Texas) should confirm which statute applies but the math is identical for both regimes.

SUPER-PRIORITY DOES NOT COVER FEES. Reasonable attorneys fees and costs are recoverable as part of the lien under NMSA § 47-7C-316(d), but they share the SUB-PRIORITY position. Only the six months of ASSESSMENTS under the periodic budget receive super-priority treatment. Counsel sometimes incorrectly assert that fees ride on the super-priority — they do not. Confirm at the foreclosure-sale distribution that only the assessment portion is being paid ahead of the first mortgage.

ACCELERATION IS PERMITTED BUT DOES NOT EXPAND THE SUPER-PRIORITY. The declaration may permit acceleration of the entire annual assessment upon delinquency. Acceleration accelerates the personal obligation but does NOT expand the super-priority — the statutory text explicitly references the assessments that would have become due IN THE ABSENCE of acceleration. Acceleration is a sub-priority enhancement, not a super-priority enhancement.

RECOVERY ON THE SUB-PRIORITY DEPENDS ON EQUITY. Even with the super-priority, the bulk of recovery in most cases depends on equity above the first mortgage at the judicial sale. The calculator surfaces estimated equity (property value minus first mortgage) so counsel can size the realistic recovery before incurring further attorneys fees. When the property is underwater on the first mortgage, the sub-priority portion typically recovers little or nothing.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the NMSA § 47-7C-316 super-priority math. It does NOT:

• Model the full judicial-foreclosure timeline (use the separate New Mexico CIC Foreclosure Timeline Calculator for that).
• Model declaration-specific late-charge and interest formulas — the calculator accepts pre-computed totals.
• Validate the procedural compliance with the demand and notice requirements specified in the declaration and bylaws.
• Cover priority disputes with mechanic liens, tax liens, or other non-mortgage encumbrances beyond the binary first-mortgage analysis.
• Model the personal-judgment component against the unit owner if the foreclosure sale proceeds are insufficient to satisfy the lien.
• Compute the deficiency analysis after sale or the nine-month redemption math (use the foreclosure timeline calculator for redemption tracking).

For any consequential collection action, retain New Mexico counsel with NMSA § 47-7 enforcement experience to oversee the procedural compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 against:

• NMSA § 47-7A-1 et seq. — New Mexico Condominium Act (UCIOA-derived statutory framework).
• NMSA § 47-7C-316 — statutory association assessment lien with six-month super-priority.
• NMSA § 47-16-1 et seq. — New Mexico HOA Act (planned communities; parallel UCIOA framework).
• NMSA § 39-5-1 et seq. — judicial-foreclosure procedure.
• NMSA § 39-5-18 — nine-month right of redemption following judicial sale.
• NMSA § 37-1-3 — six-year statute of limitations on written contracts (compared against the three-year lien-enforcement SOL).
• Community Associations Institute New Mexico chapter practitioner materials on NMSA § 47-7 enforcement.