Foreclosure Sale Bidding & Post Sale Process

PLEASE NOTE: The Colorado foreclosure laws may be changed from time to time by the Colorado General Assembly through legislation signed by the Governor. The laws have CHANGED several times over the past few years. Please check Title 38, Article 38 of the Colorado Revised Statutes for CURRENT laws relating to foreclosures. Due to the change in laws, the Public Trustee’s office will be simultaneously processing foreclosures under the NEW and the OLD laws, depending on the date the foreclosure is “started”.

The Public Trustee is NOT legally authorized to stop a foreclosure and can continue a foreclosure sale only under very limited circumstances defined in the law. If a written bid from the lender is not TIMELY RECEIVED as set forth in the law before a foreclosure is set to go to sale, the foreclosure is continued for at least one week. If the Public Trustee has not timely received an Order Authorizing Sale from the District Court (out of a Rule 120 civil proceeding), then the sale is continued for at least one week.

NOTICE: If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a Notice of Intent to Cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

A Notice or Combined Notice of Sale and Rights to Cure and Redeem is mailed to all parties with a recorded interest in the property and is published for five consecutive weeks in general circulation newspapers within the county. The Combined Notice sets out the time and date of the foreclosure sale. The originally scheduled sale date may be continued (postponed) at the request of the lender or its attorney. When a sale date is continued the homeowner/borrower does NOT receive additional Notices of the new sale date. Homeowners/borrowers can monitor “currently scheduled sale dates” for their foreclosures on the Public Trustee’s website.

Filing of a bankruptcy by the owner of the property stays (or delays) the foreclosure until the automatic stay is lifted or the bankruptcy court abandons the property or the bankruptcy case is dismissed or closed. The foreclosure sale is “stayed” week to week until the United States Bankruptcy Court takes action.

A listing of all “tentative” foreclosures going to sale each Wednesday is available for viewing on the Office of the Adams County Public Trustee website every Monday (unless a holiday week) after 12 p.m., or an updated version including any amended bids will be available on Tuesday afternoon. After the foreclosure sale on Wednesday morning, the website will be updated as well to show all properties sold at the sale.

Parties interested in overbidding must contact Real Auction by calling 877.361.7325 or https://adams.realforeclosure.com/ Bidding begins at $200 increments over the lender’s written bid. The full bid amount must be entered into Real Auction, adding to that bid amount in increments of $200, $400, $600, $800 etc. which will be rounded to an even amount, on the final winning bid. The bidding is competitive and done online to the highest bidder tendering sufficient funds wins. All wire transfers must be received in this office no later than 12 noon the day prior to the date of sale to bid. Funds must be received in the full amount of the bid plus what you’re willing to overbid for your wire transfer to be accepted. See our document entitled “How to Bid at the Public Trustee Foreclosure Sale” on our “Forms & Policies” page.

After the Public Trustee is assured that funds have been deposited and cleared the financial institution, a Certificate of Purchase, a Certificate of Purchase (CP) will be issued by the Public Trustee and recorded. The recorded CP will be retained in the Public Trustee’s office. After all redemption periods have expired the Confirmation Deed will be automatically issued to the Holder or Assignee of the Certificate of Purchase, or in the case of a redemption, to the Holder of the Certificate of Redemption, no later than 15 business days after both the title vests and the Public Trustee has received all statutory fees and costs.

For information on foreclosure cases started prior to 1/1/08, please contact the Public Trustee’s office because the CP process is different for those older cases.

Laws are subject to change. Please refer to the Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38, Article 38 for the changes and their effective dates.

Please consult your legal advisor for clarification of your rights, the rights of the homeowner and other lienholder’s rights during the redemption period.

The interest under the Certificate of Purchase is fully assignable in writing, once the Certificate of Purchase has been issued by the Public Trustee. Written Assignments of the CP MUST be dated and signed OR recorded OR provided to the Public Trustee’s office on or before the 8th business day after date of sale because title vests statutorily in the CP holder thereafter. Once title has vested in the CP holder, the CP cannot be assigned by the CP holder to someone else. Assignments of the CP should be provided to the Public Trustee’s office at the time the deed is requested and paid for so that an accurate Public Trustee’s Deed or Confirmation Deed may be issued.