100 New Mexico properties up for auction after Diocese of Gallup bankruptcy

By Stephanie Guzman
Albuquerque Business First
August 11, 2015

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/real-estate/2015/08/100-new-mexico-properties-up-for-auction-after.html

An auction for Diocese of Gallup properties is set to take place Sept. 19 in Albuquerque. Photo by Mark Wragg

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup has more than 120 properties in both New Mexico and Arizona that are set to go on the market as part of a court-ordered auction. The auction comes after the diocese's bankruptcy proceedings which began in 2013.

Accelerated Marketing Group and Tucson Realty and Trust Co. are offering the properties in two auctions, the first of which is in Arizona. About 100 properties in New Mexico will be auctioned in Albuquerque on Sept. 19 at the Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel located at 2910 Yale Blvd SE.

Todd Good, president of Accelerated Marketing Group, said auctions are an effective way to quickly liquidate real estate assets. Some properties up for auction include a Catholic Charities building in Farmington and a 151-acre residential subdivision — La Vega Estates — in Cibola County.

At the auction, the properties will be sold regardless of the price, Good said. "If you're the high bidder, you win the property and are not subject to court approval."

Good said many of the diocese's real estate assets are from parishioners who have donated land to the church. The Diocese represents 58,000 parishioners and more than 70 churches in New Mexico and Arizona.

"It's not uncommon that a lot of people will donate property to the church upon their death or as part of their tax planning," Good said.

Accelerated Marketing Group, which is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, has handled other real estate auctions related to Catholic Diocese bankruptcies, including an auction of 80 properties for the Diocese of Tucson.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Diocese of Gallup is one of 14 Catholic Dioceses and religious orders that have filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy since 2004. The Diocese of Gallup filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 12, 2013.