Foreclosure Laws In Colorado

Most foreclosures in Colorado are non-judicial. The public trustee of the county, where the foreclosed property is located, carries out the process of sale.

The process begins with the filing of the Notice of Election and Demand with the public trustee. The foreclosure date is set before 110 days to not later than 125 days from the date of recording the notice.

The public trustee publishes a notice in the local newspaper of the county, where the property is located. This notice is published once a week for five consecutive weeks. Within twenty days of the first publication of the notice in the newspaper, the public trustee mails the copy of the notice to the grantor of loan and the persons having vested interest in the property.

If a person receives a foreclosure notice, he should consult a Colorado real estate attorney to know his options.

If a person receives a notice of foreclosure, it does not mean that he will lose his property. He can prevent sale of his property by filing an "Intent of Cure" 15 days before the set date for auction of the property. The homeowner must cure the default by 12 noon of the day prior to the date of auction. If the homeowner fails to do so, then the public trustee will auction the property as scheduled.

If a person is planning to file a notice of "Intent to Cure", he should take the help of a Colorado real estate lawyer. The lawyer will help to develop a strategy to avoid foreclosure. Some of the options available to homeowners to avoid foreclosure are loan modification, loan refinance, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, and pre-foreclosure sale. In some cases, where the financial health of a homeowner is very poor, bankruptcy can be filed in order to avoid foreclosure. However, it is best to consult a Colorado bankruptcy lawyer about this.

To begin the auction process, the public trustee reads out the bid of the lender. After that, other people are allowed to bid. The highest bidder is given the certificate of purchase.

According to new foreclosure laws in Colorado, the previous owner has no right to redeem property after its sale. But, the junior lien holders have the right to redeem the property after paying the entire amount, which includes the amount owed at the foreclosure stage and after that till redemption. However, they should file the notice of "intent of redeem" within ten days of sale. To know more about redemption of foreclosed property under new foreclosure laws, a person may consult a Colorado real estate lawyer.