A. On the date and at the time and place designated in the notice of sale, the trustee shall sell the trust real estate at public auction for cash to the highest bidder. To determine the highest bidder, the trustor or beneficiary present at the sale may suggest the then existing and legally described and established lots, blocks, tracts or parcels of the trust real estate in which the trust real estate may be sold. The trustee shall ascertain all such suggestions, shall conditionally sell the trust real estate under each suggestion and, in addition, shall sell the trust real estate as a whole. The trustee shall determine which conditional sale results in the highest total price bid for all of the trust real estate. The lawyer for the trustee may conduct the sale and may act at the sale as the auctioneer for the trustee. Any person, including the trustee or beneficiary, may bid at the sale. Only the beneficiary may make a credit bid, instead of cash, at the sale. A junior encumbrancer may bid the amount or value of the obligation secured by the lien, mortgage, encumbrance or real estate contract, as the case may be, owed to the junior encumbrancer, less the amount or value of any prior deeds of trust, mortgages, liens, encumbrances or real estate contracts, if any, instead of cash, at the sale. In appropriate circumstances, the trustee may sell the trust real estate subject to prior deeds of trust, mortgages, liens, encumbrances or real estate contracts that are not being foreclosed. Every bid shall be deemed an irrevocable offer until the sale is completed and the sale shall not be deemed completed until the purchaser pays the price bid in immediately collectible or available federal funds. If the purchaser fails to pay the amount bid by the purchaser for the trust real estate struck off to the purchaser at the sale as provided in the Deed of Trust Act, the trustee may accept the next highest bid or proceed with the sale of the trust real estate to the highest bidder. The person who fails to make the payment shall be liable to any person who suffers loss or expenses, including reasonable attorney fees actually incurred by the trustee and beneficiary occasioned by the failure, and the trustee may subsequently in any postponed or continued sale of the trust real estate reject any bid of the person failing to pay the amount bid.

B. The person conducting the sale may, for the purpose of verifying the proper amount to be paid or the availability of immediately collectible federal funds, postpone or continue the sale for a reasonable period by giving notice of the new time by public declaration at the time and place last appointed for the sale. No other notice of the postponed or continued sale is required.

History: Laws 1987, ch. 61, § 13; 2006, ch. 32, § 5; 2007, ch. 156, § 3.

The 2007 amendment, effective April 2, 2007, eliminated former Subsection G, which provided for the continuance of a sale if the sale is contrary to a federal statute because of an unknown or undisclosed bankruptcy.

Applicability. — Laws 2007, ch. 156, §7 provided that Laws 2006, ch. 32, codified as Sections 48-10-3, 48-10-7, 48-10-10, 48-10-11, 48-10-13, 48-10-16, and 48-10-17 NMSA 1978, applied to deeds of trust executed on or after May 17, 2006 and that the provisions of Laws 2007, ch. 156 applied to deeds of trust executed on or after the effective date of Laws 2007, ch. 156, which was April 2, 2007.

The 2006 amendment, effective May 17, 2006, added Subparagraph C to provide for completion of a sale that is contrary to a federal bankruptcy statute.