P.I.D.'s -Hidden Tax Increases - What you need to know:

Recently, a Ventana West re-sale customer contacted Stewart Title because their
property tax bill was increased by $506 dollars. Jeanine Dodson a Stewart Title
Escrow Officer, jdodson@stewart.com, researched and found that $506 will be
charged yearly for the next 30 years to pay for municipal infrastructure and public
services and is called a PID (Public Improvement District).
Jeanine's information comes from Mitchell Mosesman at (800) 969-4382, mmossesman@taussig.
com who is Senior Vice President of David Taussig & Associates, Inc. www.
taussig.com. He specializes in the use of land-secured bonds to finance public
infrastructure in California, Illinois and New Mexico.
I contacted Phil Rodriguez, Property Tax Exempt Specialist, pmrodrigue@bernco.gov of the
Bernalillo County Assessors Office, www.bernco.gov for a public list of other new
construction subdivisions that are passing their infrastructure costs onto
potentially unsuspecting re-sale buyers. He could only refer me back to Mitch
Mossesman.
Pauline (949) 955-1500 of David Taussig & Associates explained that new
construction purchasers are given a disclosure of this 30 year lien but she is not
certain if re-sale purchasers are given any disclosure or if any public record exists
of which new subdivisions are using this 30 year additional tax to pay for their
roads, parks and landscaping. She is only currently aware of Ventana West and
Cabezon and suggested I obtain a title package or tax record to find out which
other builders are using this method.
I explained to her of the cost involved in obtaining a title package and of the near
impossibility of online tax records for new construction especially in Rio Rancho.
(I've checked title packages from Cabezon and they do not disclose
this lien. Approximately $400 to $500 is for roads and parks, etc and $67 to $100
is for maintenance. This cost is dictated by the number of homes in the
subdivision.)
New construction subdivision builders will increasingly use this pass-along
method that is not reflected in the purchase price of the new home. Re-sale
buyers especially need to know of this additional 30 year tax burden. There needs
to be a legal disclosure document for re-sale buyers in these communities.
Ignorance may not be enough of an excuse for what has the potential to become
a future dispute or claim by the re-sale purchaser.