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Colorado · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Colorado

Colorado gives you several ways to stop or delay a public trustee sale, and each has a firm cutoff counted back from the sale date. The strongest are the right to cure, which lets you catch up without paying the whole loan, and the rule that makes the public trustee continue the sale while a confirmed loss mitigation application is checked. Colorado has no homeowner redemption after the sale, so everything has to happen before it.

Ask for help in Colorado Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Colorado law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Colorado

  • Apply for loss mitigation and tell the public trustee

    Written proof to the public trustee no later than 14 calendar days before the sale

    Send your servicer a complete application early. If it confirms in writing that it received a complete application, dated at least 37 days before the sale, or that you accepted an option, give that letter to the public trustee. The public trustee must contact the lender and continue the sale until it answers.

    C.R.S. § 38-38-103.2

  • Cure the default

    Notice of intent to cure at least 15 calendar days before the sale. Payment by 12 noon the day before the sale

    File the notice with the public trustee, who gets a cure statement from the lender. You pay the missed amounts and allowed fees and costs to the public trustee, not the full accelerated balance. After a cure the foreclosure is withdrawn or dismissed.

    C.R.S. § 38-38-104

  • Respond to the Rule 120 notice

    At least 7 days before the hearing date

    File form JDF 621 with the court and mail it to the lender's attorney. Explain why the judge should not order the sale, attach proof such as a payment plan or cancelled checks, and say so if anyone on the loan is in the military.

    C.R.S. § 38-38-105; C.R.C.P. 120

  • Ask for a continuance

    Before the sale begins

    The public trustee may continue a sale at the lender's written request or for good cause. Ask your servicer in writing to request a continuance if a workout, sale or refinance is close.

    C.R.S. § 38-38-109(1)

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sale is held

    A bankruptcy filing stops the public trustee from holding the sale. If publication was already complete, the sale is continued week to week. If it was not, the lender must later restart with a re-recorded notice of election and demand. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney first.

    C.R.S. § 38-38-109(2)

  • If the foreclosing lienholder is your HOA

    After the association files to foreclose and before the sale date

    You can file a motion asking the court to stay the auction so you can list the unit for sale at fair market value. A stay lasts nine months and can be extended for good cause.

    C.R.S. § 38-38-109.5

What Colorado law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Right to reinstate

Yes. When the default is missed payments, you have a right to cure. File a written notice of intent to cure with the public trustee at least 15 calendar days before the sale, then pay the amount on the lender's cure statement to the public trustee by 12 noon the day before the sale. Principal that is only due because the loan was accelerated is not included. If the sale is continued to a later date, the deadline to file the notice of intent to cure may move too. The right can be lost if the court's order finds a default other than nonpayment.

C.R.S. § 38-38-104

Foreclosure mediation

No statewide program

We found no statewide foreclosure mediation program on the Colorado Judicial Branch, Attorney General or Division of Housing pages. The Rule 120 hearing is a short court hearing, not mediation. What state law does provide is a required notice with the Colorado foreclosure hotline number, which connects you to free housing counselors who can work with your servicer.

Hotline notice before foreclosure

At least 30 days before filing, the lender must mail you the Colorado foreclosure hotline number, the direct number for its loss mitigation department, and a statement that foreclosure consultants cannot charge up-front fees.

C.R.S. § 38-38-102.5

Single point of contact

By the 45th day of your delinquency, a servicer must set up a single point of contact who can tell you about your options, what you must send in, the status of your application and the deadlines. Servicers with 5,000 or fewer loans are exempt.

C.R.S. § 38-38-103.1

Dual tracking limit

If your servicer confirmed a complete loss mitigation application or you accepted an option and are following it, you can give that written proof to the public trustee at least 14 calendar days before the sale. The public trustee must ask the lender about it and continue the sale until the lender responds. Small servicers are exempt.

C.R.S. § 38-38-103.2

Limits on fees for recovering sale surplus

An agreement to pay someone to recover leftover sale money (an overbid) from the public trustee is not enforceable, and pushing you to sign one is a crime. After the money goes to the State Treasurer, a finder agreement is enforceable only if it is signed at least two years after the transfer and the fee is no more than 10 percent.

C.R.S. §§ 38-38-111(2.5)(c), 38-13-1304

HOA lien foreclosure protections

If a homeowners association forecloses its lien, you can ask the court to stay the auction for nine months so you can list the unit for sale at fair market value. A 2024 law also lets the unit owner redeem after an association lien sale.

C.R.S. §§ 38-38-109.5, 38-38-305.5

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Colorado

What is a notice of intent to cure in Colorado?

It is a written notice you file with the county public trustee saying you plan to catch up on the loan. It must be filed no later than 15 calendar days before the sale, under C.R.S. 38-38-104. The public trustee then asks the lender for a cure statement showing the amount you must pay.

Do I have to pay the whole mortgage balance to cure in Colorado?

No. The cure amount is what is due under the loan plus the lender's allowed fees and costs, and the statute says principal that would not be due without acceleration is not included. Payment goes to the public trustee by 12 noon the day before the sale.

Is there foreclosure mediation in Colorado?

We found no statewide foreclosure mediation program on the Colorado Judicial Branch, Attorney General or Division of Housing pages. Colorado relies instead on the required hotline notice, housing counseling and the Rule 120 hearing.

Can I redeem my home after a Colorado foreclosure sale?

Not after a mortgage or deed of trust foreclosure. Under C.R.S. 38-38-302 only junior lienholders can redeem. The one exception is an HOA lien foreclosure, where a 2024 law lets the unit owner redeem as an alternate lienor.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Colorado

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

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Sources for this page

  1. Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, Title 38 (Office of Legislative Legal Services), including C.R.S. 38-38-100.3 to 38-38-705 and 38-13-1304
  2. Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, Title 6, including the Foreclosure Protection Act, C.R.S. 6-1-1101 to 6-1-1121
  3. Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, Title 13, including C.R.S. 13-40-104
  4. Colorado General Assembly: 2026 CRS Titles for Download
  5. Colorado General Assembly: HB26-1098, modifications to the Colorado Public Trustee Act
  6. Colorado General Assembly: HB25-1043, protection of unit owners in association enforcement actions
  7. Colorado General Assembly: HB24-1337, rights of unit owners in collection of amounts owed
  8. Colorado Judicial Branch: Residential Foreclosures (self-help)
  9. Colorado Division of Housing: Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program
  10. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  11. Colorado State Treasurer: Property Tax Deferral Program Overview
  12. CHFA: Foreclosure Prevention
  13. Colorado Attorney General: Consumer Credit Unit
  14. Colorado Attorney General: File a Complaint