Foreclosure Sale Process

Delays or Closures
If there is a county-wide delayed start or closure on the day of the sale, the sale will be continued to the next week. When in effect, delay and closure notices are posted on the homepage of Douglas County, Colorado

To Attend/Participate in the Foreclosure Sale:

WHEN: The Foreclosure sales are held via public auction on Wednesday at 10am
WHERE: Douglas County PS Miller Bldg. Hearing Room, 100 Third St. Castle Rock, CO
WHAT: Deeds of Trust containing a power of sale (right to sell the property at public auction in the event of default).

Please Note: Judicial foreclosures are not conducted through a Public Trustee Foreclosure Sale. A Judicial foreclosure is conducted through the court system on a mortgage, deed of trust, or judgment and is employed when no power of sale clause (Public Trustee) is included in the security instrument. In Colorado, if the Public Trustee is not included in the Deed of Trust, the lender must sue the borrower and obtain a court order to foreclose. Once the court orders a foreclosure, the court orders the Sheriff to conduct the foreclosure sale in accordance with the foreclosure laws.

How do I know if there will be properties available and if the auction will take place this week?

No later than 12 noon on Monday before the sale (or the previous Friday if the Monday is a holiday) the foreclosing lender must produce a written bid to purchase the property. This becomes the lender’s minimum bid for the Public Trustee auction. Lenders may amend their bids in writing until Tuesday at noon or in person at the time of the sale. If a bid is not received from the lender for the property set for sale, the sale on that property is continued for at least one week.

The pre-sale list can be accessed on the Foreclosure Property Search below.
Properties available for the current week’s Sale will be posted after 12:00pm on the Monday before the sale (if Monday is a Holiday it will be posted on the preceding Friday).
To verify if there will be a scheduled sale for the upcoming week, consult the Foreclosure Property Search and press the Weekly Sale List- Bid Received report. The listing of properties will display, the starting bid will be noted in the column labeled: Bid From the Lender. If there are no properties on the report, no sale will be held that week

Registration for the sale begins at 9:45 a.m. on the day of the sale. All prospective bidders are required to check-in and/or register with the Deputy in charge of the sale prior to the 10:00 a.m. start in order to expedite the sales process.
Prospective bidders are asked to indicate which foreclosures they are interested in bidding on and complete a Bidder Registration form.
Parties interested in bidding on a property must be in possession of certified funds made out to the Douglas County Public Trustee equal to the lender’s minimum bid plus $50. The Deputy verifies the certified fund amounts and confirms the information that is on the bid sheet. (Bidders may not join the auction until certified funds are verified.)
If an individual cannot be present at the auction, their representative must provide a document authorizing him/her to be bid in their place. If the name on the Certificate of Purchase is to be different from the person authorized to bid, the exact name of the person/company in which the Certificate of Purchase is to be issued must be specified on the bid sheet.
At the beginning of each property’s auction, the written minimum bid from the foreclosing lender is announced by the official in charge of the sale as the opening bid. All subsequent bids will be taken in increments of no less than $1,000 more than the previous bid. Bidding is competitive and done orally with each bidder announcing their name and the amount bid.
When the final bid is determined, the successful bidder will then be required to present certified funds. If the successful bidder presents certified funds for the difference amount over the minimum amount required, a refund check will be issued after verification that the funds have cleared. This should occur on the 4th business day following the sale, or later if the check is written on a bank outside of our Federal Reserve region. The check will be mailed to the winning bidder unless the bidder asks, on the competitive bid information sheet, that it be held for pick-up.
If the successful bidder requests time to replace any additional check(s) that overpay the successful bid difference with a new check that accurately pays the successful bid difference, the Public Trustee may allow additional time of up to two (2) hours after the conclusion of the Public Trustee foreclosure sale.
Upon request, the Public Trustee may grant an additional time of up to two (2) hours after the conclusion of the Public Trustee’s foreclosure sale to obtain the full difference amount of the winning bid. In those instances, the successful bidder must present cash or certified funds to cover the full amount. Funds received within two (2) hours following the conclusion of the sale are considered paid at the time of sale. If the Public Trustee is unable to verify that funds have been received in the designated electronic account or in the office at the end of that 2-hour period, the Public Trustee will contact the next highest bidder. That bidder will be given two (2) hours to produce funds.
This process will continue for each property with registered bidders. For properties where no one submitted bids, the property will be shown sold to the foreclosing lender who submitted the minimum written bid. The Certificate of Purchase (COP) will be issued to the winning bidder.
All moneys payable to the Public Trustee at any foreclosure sale shall be in the form of cash, electronic transfer to an account of the Public Trustee available for such purpose, or certified check, cashier’s check, teller’s check, or a draft denominated as an official check that is a teller’s check or a cashier’s check as those terms are defined in and governed by the “Uniform Commercial Code”, title 4, C.R.S., made payable to the Public Trustee, and certified or issued by a state-chartered bank, savings and loan association, or credit union licensed to do business in the state of Colorado or a federally chartered bank, savings bank, or credit union.
The preceding rules are subject to change based on best practices and special circumstances as determined by the Douglas County Public Trustee. Changes will be posted in the Public Trustee office and on the Douglas County Public Trustee’s website five (5) calendar days prior to the new rule taking effect.

Foreclosure After the Sale

Title to the property vests with either the Certificate of Purchase holder or the final Certificate of Redemption holder on the 9th business day following the sale or the day after the last redemption period, whichever is later.
The Redemption provisions allow a junior lienholder to purchase the property either from the buyer that holds the certificate of purchase or the previous certificate of redemption holder if there is one. For all junior lienholder redemptions, the junior lienholder must have a recorded interest in the property prior to the Notice of Election and Demand recording date and must submit the original or a certified copy of the recorded lien as part of the Intent to Redeem process.
For junior lien holders, the timeframe to file Intent to Redeem with the Public Trustee begins the day after the sale for eight business days. The junior lienholder with the most senior lien may redeem beginning on the 15th business day after the sale and will have 5 business days to redeem until 12 noon on the 5th day. If there is more than one redeeming lienor, each subsequent junior lienholder with the next most senior lien will be able to redeem from the previous redeeming lienor beginning with the day after the previous redemption period and run for 5 business days for each additional lienor. There is a $50 fee to file each Intent to Redeem.
If there is an assignment, the original recorded document or certified copy of the assignment showing the transfer of the lien must be submitted.

Special Requirements for HOA Lien Holders

Douglas County requires the following documentation for all HOA lien holders wanting to redeem an HOA lien:

Intent to redeem specifying the amount of the lien, minus the senior portion, plus any interest amount.
The HOA general ledger for the property address in foreclosure.
Copy of the first page of the HOA covenant declarations showing the recording stamp and the page regarding lien provisions.
Recorded Lien Statement, if there is one.

Federal Liens

If there is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or U.S. Government agency (i.e. Small Business Administration or U.S. Treasury) lien against the property, the agency may file an intent to redeem with the Public Trustee and must follow the junior lienholder redemption process outlined in the state statutes. In addition, under federal law, the IRS may redeem independently of Colorado law up to 120 days, but the Public Trustee office is not involved in the redemption.

Redeeming Statement

After an Intent to Redeem has been filed with the Public Trustee, the Certificate of Purchase holder must prepare a Redemption Statement that specifies all sums necessary to redeem including: the amount of the purchase price from the foreclosure sale, the interest rate and amount through the 19th business day post-sale, costs and expenses actually incurred which are permitted by C.R.S. 38-38-107 which usually costs to secure the property, insurance, inspections, immediate repairs, etc. with receipts or invoices evidencing the costs and expenses incurred.

The statement shall be submitted to the Public Trustee no later than 13 days after the sale. A statement may be amended no later than two business days prior to the start of the redemption payoff period.

A redeeming lienholder must present the redemption amount in cash, certified funds, or federal wire transfer to the Public Trustee by the close of business before 12 noon on the final day of the redemption period. The Public Trustee cannot accept late redemption proceeds. A Certificate of Redemption is issued to the party redeeming the property from foreclosure.

Confirmation Deed (Transfer of Title)

Title does not transfer until the end of the 8th business day after the sale, or at the conclusion of all established redemptions periods. Until that time, the owner prior to sale remains the owner with full right to continue occupying the property.

What types of funds are necessary to bid on foreclosures at the Public Trustee Sale?

Cash or certified funds must be tendered at the time of sale. The lender’s bid, which is the opening bid, is available after 5:00 p.m. on Monday the week of the sale.

Where can I obtain information about other liens against properties in foreclosure?

Information concerning liens recorded against a property can be obtained by contacting the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder’s Office at 303.660.7446 or emailing [email protected]. The Public Trustee’s office does not have information regarding recorded liens against a property. Please be aware that there may be other liens outside of Douglas County.

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How do I know if there will be properties available and if the auction will take place this week?

Public Trustee Foreclosure Search

Foreclosure After the Sale

Additional Resources

Foreclosure Timeline

Online Recorded Document Search

Foreclosure FAQs

What types of funds are necessary to bid on foreclosures at the Public Trustee Sale?

Where can I obtain information about other liens against properties in foreclosure?