MGIC Mortgage Corp. v. Bowen, 91 N.M. 200, 572 P.2d 547 (N.M. 1977)
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited opinion.
- Citation: 91 N.M. 200, 572 P.2d 547 (1977) (decided Dec. 21, 1977)
- Court / Year: Supreme Court of New Mexico, 1977
- Topic tags: equitable_interest · forfeiture
- Facts: A dispute over the parties’ respective interests in property held under a real estate contract, implicating which party bears changes in the property’s value during the contract term.
- Holding: “During the life of the real estate contract any risk of loss or enhancement in value accrues to the purchaser.” On default and forfeiture the buyer’s interest terminates and there is no enhancement value to be recovered by the buyer.
- Reasoning: The buyer under an REC is, in equity, the owner who enjoys appreciation and bears the risk of loss; the seller holds bare legal title as security. That allocation also means a forfeiting buyer cannot claw back the property’s increased value.
- Practical impact for CFD operators/buyers: Quoted in Russell v. Richards as the rule barring a forfeiting buyer from recovering the property’s enhancement in value — central to why a valid New Mexico forfeiture leaves the buyer with nothing.
- Good-law status: Good law; quoted in Russell v. Richards (1985).
- Source (retrieved): https://static.case.law/nm/91/cases/0200-01.json · Verified: 2026-06-08
Jurisdictions that follow / cite: new-mexico
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Confirm the opinion is still good law before relying on it.