Sell a Mortgage Note in Colorado

Colorado is a note-friendly state with a foreclosure system unlike anywhere else in the country: the Public Trustee. It's a non-judicial process at heart, it's reasonably quick, and there's no post-sale redemption for borrowers — all positives for note value. Mortgage Note Capital buys Colorado notes for cash.

Colorado's unique Public Trustee process

Most non-judicial states use a private trustee named in the deed of trust. Colorado instead routes foreclosures through a Public Trustee — a county officer — who administers the sale. There's also a brief judicial step: the lender obtains an order authorizing sale (Rule 120) confirming the right to foreclose. Despite that extra layer, the process is not a full judicial lawsuit and remains comparatively fast, commonly running about 110 to 125 days — roughly 4 to 5 months.

The big positive for note value is redemption. Under Colorado's modern system, borrowers no longer have a post-sale redemption right — only junior lienholders may redeem, within a short window after the sale. For a note buyer, that means once the sale is complete and any junior-lien redemption window passes, the property is secured with no risk of the borrower clawing it back. Quick, predictable recovery with no borrower redemption is exactly what supports a higher price (lower yield) on Colorado paper.

Deficiency in Colorado

Colorado allows deficiency judgments. A noteholder can pursue the shortfall within a generous six-year window, and the borrower has a fair-market-value defense that limits the deficiency to the debt minus the property's value. As with most owner-financed notes, recovery comes chiefly from the property and its equity, so the deficiency right is a secondary factor.

Colorado's note market

Colorado is a high-value, active note market. Denver anchors a fast-growing Front Range corridor that includes Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, and Boulder. High and rising property values mean Colorado notes often carry sizable balances, and a deep investor community plus a strong seller-finance culture — including on mountain and resort properties — keep new notes flowing.

Selling your Colorado note

Colorado's foreclosure backdrop supports solid value, so the path to a top-of-range offer is a clean, well-documented note with strong equity. Have your note and recorded deed of trust, the current unpaid principal balance, the rate, payment, and payment history, and the property's approximate value ready.

A few specifics help. Clean documentation — the original promissory note, the recorded deed of trust, and the closing statement — lets a buyer confirm the lien quickly through the Public Trustee system. A first-lien position earns the best pricing; second liens are reviewed case by case (and note that junior liens are the only parties with redemption rights, which is worth disclosing). A low investment-to-value ratio strengthens any offer. And if you'd rather keep part of the income, a partial purchase lets you sell a portion of the upcoming payments while retaining the back end and any balloon.

Colorado's Public Trustee system is actually a quiet advantage when you sell a note, even though it's unfamiliar. Because a neutral county officer administers the sale and the Rule 120 order confirms the right to foreclose up front, the process is standardized and predictable county to county — a buyer underwriting a Denver note and one underwriting a note in a mountain county are looking at the same well-defined procedure. That predictability reduces the uncertainty a buyer would otherwise price in. The main thing to be aware of in Colorado's high-value mountain and resort markets (Summit County, Eagle County, the Roaring Fork Valley) is that prices there can be more volatile than along the Front Range, so a recent valuation matters more for those notes. For a typical Front Range home note with solid equity, expect Colorado's combination of speed, no borrower redemption, and procedural clarity to support a strong, clean offer.

We buy performing and non-performing Colorado notes statewide and price each on its own merits.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Colorado's Public Trustee process and redemption rules change — verify current law and consult an attorney before acting on a specific note.