Sandoval County schedules May 22 manufactured-home auction; office clears most cases and plans online bidding

Sandoval County Treasurer Taylor told the Board of Finance the county will hold an in-person manufactured-home auction on May 22 and has legal clearance to move future auctions online using GovDeals, a vendor the county already uses. Taylor said the office has reduced its initial auction list to about six accounts for the upcoming sale and has collected $132,189 so far from manufactured-home delinquencies.

Taylor said the county posted the auction as required and worked with the county legal department to confirm that online auctions are permissible; however, the county cannot run the same event simultaneously as both an in-person and online sale. "After this auction is done, we will definitely move forward with online auctions," Taylor said, describing a future process where listings run for a full week and typically close on a Thursday with same-day remittance from the winning bidder.

Commissioners asked how an online auction would present live bids; a board member described the format as similar to eBay where the highest live bid wins. Taylor said GovDeals is strictly for government entities and that she expects an online option will increase interest and participation. The county attorney noted one recent code-enforcement case in which a property owner cleared code violations and paid about 10 years of back taxes, illustrating collection outcomes tied to enforcement work.

The treasurer said Martin Stevens, the office's manufactured-home specialist, has worked on the auctions and that the office prefers that delinquent owners pay rather than lose their homes. The treasurer said she will provide more details at the next Board of Finance meeting.

The auction and any subsequent online implementation will proceed under county legal guidance; the treasurer said she will notify commissioners when a schedule or additional procedural details are finalized.