CO Foreclosure Bills HB14-1295, HB14-1312 Pass House
On March 25, Denver Business Journal posted a blog titled House Passes Foreclosure Bills to Help Colorado Homeowners.
Link to bill text – HB14-1295 and HB14-1312. Following is the aforementioned post.
House passes foreclosure bills to help Colorado homeowners
A pair of bills meant to help homeowners avoid foreclosure passed in the Colorado House Tuesday morning.
HB14-1295, sponsored by Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, prohibits so-called “dual tracking,” in which a lender negotiates with a borrower while simultaneously pursuing foreclosure.
The bill also requires a lender to establish a single point of contact for the borrower to communicate with the lender concerning foreclosure matters, ending the runaround reported by many homeowners involved in loan modifications.
It was sent to the Senate on a 38-27 vote, with Rep. Jared Wright, R-Fruita, joining the House Democrats in support of the bill.
During the debate, Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, first railed against the $800 billion that the federal government spent bailing out Wall Street banks, but later said he liked the bill because he thinks it levels the playing field somewhat between banks and homeowners.
Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, joined him in support of the bill, saying that while she is leery of too much government involvement in private transactions, she thinks HB 1312 can give people who have lost a job or lost a spouse the temporary stability of not losing their home as they figure out their immediate future.
HB14-1312, sponsored by Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver, delays the sale of foreclosed properties and passed 46-19. It will now go on to the Senate.
The bill continues the state’s foreclosure deferment program, which is scheduled to sunset at the end of the fiscal year.
Under the program, county public trustees are required to delay the scheduled sale of a foreclosed property for up to 90 days for homeowners who meet specific eligibility requirements.
Please click here to view the online blog.
About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest mortgage field services company in the U.S. Founded in 1990 by Robert Klein and based in Valley View, Ohio, the company inspects and maintains defaulted and foreclosed properties for mortgage servicers, lenders, and other financial institutions. Safeguard employs approximately 1,700 people, in addition to a network of thousands of contractors nationally. Website: www.safeguardproperties.com.
