Curing the default: how to stop the sale by catching up

Bottom line first. In a Colorado public trustee foreclosure, you can stop the sale by curing the default. To cure means to pay what you are behind, plus the lender's allowed fees and costs, not the whole loan. You have to file a short written notice at least 15 calendar days before the sale and pay by noon the day before the sale. This is general education, not legal advice. Your dates come from your own notices.

Who may cure

Colorado law lists who has the right (C.R.S. 38-38-104(1)). The main ones are:

• the owner of the property when the foreclosure notice was recorded;
• if the owner has died or cannot act, the owner's heirs, personal representative, legal guardian or conservator, or a co-owner shown in the records;
• a person who is liable on the loan, and a surety or guarantor of it; and
• a holder of a junior interest, such as a second lien, whose paper was recorded before the foreclosure notice.

A neighbor, a friend or a stranger is not on the list. A person who wants to help you pay should talk to the public trustee first about whether they can.

Step 1: file the notice of intent to cure

You file a written notice of intent to cure with the public trustee, together with proof of your right to cure (for example, proof that you are the owner). It must be filed no later than 15 calendar days before the date of sale (C.R.S. 38-38-104(1)). If the sale is moved to a later date, the deadline moves too, and the combined notice says so (C.R.S. 38-38-103(4)).

Step 2: the cure statement tells you the number

After you file, the public trustee asks the lender's attorney (or the lender or servicer, if there is no attorney) for a cure statement. That is an itemized list of everything you must pay. The request goes out promptly, and no later than 12 calendar days before the sale (C.R.S. 38-38-104(2)). The statement must say how many payments are due and the amount of each, late charges, property inspections, insurance or taxes the lender paid, credit for money in your escrow account, and other fees and costs. It has to say right on it that the total does not include future monthly mortgage payments, and that it does not include the public trustee's own fees.

The statement is effective for at least 10 and no more than 30 calendar days after the public trustee receives it, or until the last day to cure, whichever comes first. After it expires, and at least 15 days before the sale, you can ask in writing for an update (C.R.S. 38-38-104(5) and (6)). If the lender does not file the statement in time, the sale is continued a week at a time until it does (C.R.S. 38-38-104(7)).

Step 3: pay

You pay the public trustee, no later than noon on the day before the sale, all the sums due under the loan and the lender's allowed fees and costs shown on the statement. Principal that would not have been due without the lender "accelerating" the loan (demanding the whole balance) is left out of the amount (C.R.S. 38-38-104(2)). If you cure, interest for any period the sale was continued is charged at the regular rate, not the default rate. If you do not cure, the default rate can be charged for that period.

The cure statement is an honest estimate and can include a good-faith estimate for fees. If the lender's final costs turn out lower, the extra is sent back to the person who paid. Within seven business days after the public trustee reports receiving the money, the lender must deliver a final reconciled statement with receipts or invoices for the court and posting costs (C.R.S. 38-38-104(2)). You can ask in writing for copies of the supporting receipts within 90 days after paying, and the lender has 30 days to provide them (C.R.S. 38-38-104(2)). Once the funds are paid, the foreclosure is withdrawn or dismissed.

Help from the rules on servicers

Two Colorado rules cover how a servicer treats you while you ask for help. A servicer is the company that handles your loan account. Small servicers (five thousand loans or fewer, all held by themselves or their affiliates) are exempt, and a servicer that follows the matching federal rules is treated as in compliance.

• Single point of contact (C.R.S. 38-38-103.1). By the 45th day you are behind, the servicer must give you one contact person and tell you in writing how to reach them. That person must give you accurate information about the help options, what you must send in, where your application stands, and the deadlines.
• No dual tracking (C.R.S. 38-38-103.2). Dual tracking means the lender processes your request for help and the foreclosure at the same time. If the servicer has confirmed it received a complete application, or you accepted an offer and are following it, you must give the public trustee written notice from the servicer no later than 14 calendar days before the sale. For the application route, the notice must show the application was received at least 37 days before the sale. The public trustee then contacts the lender within three business days and continues the sale until the lender answers. If the lender confirms the deal and you keep to it, the lender must withdraw the foreclosure within 180 days after the acknowledgment.

A complaint about a servicer goes to the Colorado attorney general or the CFPB, but the notices say plainly that a complaint does not stop the foreclosure.

Other things that can pause a sale

The public trustee can continue a sale for good cause or at the lender's request, one week at a time and up to twelve months from the original date (C.R.S. 38-38-109(1)). If someone files for bankruptcy, the federal automatic stay (a court-ordered freeze on collection) stops the sale. The officer announces the stay and the sale does not go forward while it lasts. If a sale is wrongly held during the stay and the bankruptcy later ends, the loan and deed of trust are treated as reinstated (C.R.S. 38-38-109(2)). When a stay ends, the lender has one year to ask to restart, and then the trustee re-records the notice and the process begins again as if new. Bankruptcy has serious costs; talk to a bankruptcy attorney or legal aid first.

A rescission is different, and it is the lender's tool, not yours. If the lender is the winning bidder, it may cancel the sale by filing a notice no later than eight business days after the sale, and the loan is treated as if the sale never occurred (C.R.S. 38-38-113). Do not count on it.

Example with real numbers

Priya owes $1,850 a month, is 5 months behind, and the sale is Wednesday, July 1 (made-up numbers). Her last day to file the notice is June 16 (July 1 minus 15 days). The cure statement arrives and says:

Item	Amount
5 payments x $1,850	$9,250
5 late charges x $75	$375
Property inspections	$60
Insurance paid by the lender	$410
Less escrow credit	-$500
Other fees and costs (estimate)	$1,650
Total to cure	$11,245

Math: 9,250 + 375 + 60 + 410 = 10,095; minus 500 = 9,595; plus 1,650 = 11,245. The trustee's own fees come on top. Priya must pay by noon on Tuesday, June 30. Later the lender's final statement shows real costs of $1,420, not $1,650, so $230 comes back to her (1,650 - 1,420 = 230). The $11,245 does not cover the sixth payment, so she must keep paying on time after the cure.

What to do

If you can raise the money, file the notice early. Call the public trustee to confirm the exact date and what proof they need. If you cannot raise it all, ask the servicer's single point of contact about help programs right away, and call a HUD-approved counselor or legal aid.