A Record Low Number of Foreclosures Expected For 2021

Rick Langenberg

During the Great Recession of 2008-2009, Teller County was hit hard and gained a nickname as the foreclosure king of Colorado, at least among rural counties.

 

The area was hit with residential foreclosures that exceeded the several-hundred range annually.   The big financial bombshell dealt with unpaid loans for key commercial projects.

 

It was a brutal time for community banks, such as Park State Bank & Trust.

 

Well, times have changed, based on the economy and federal and state policies, guarding against such actions.

 

And according to Treasurer and Public Trustee  Mark Czelusta, Teller is poised to probably end 2021 with six probable foreclosure actions.

 

“That is an all-time low,” said the public trustee. He cited a favorable economy for the changes. He did report, though, that the region is experiencing a high level of action pertaining to the releasing of deeds of trust. He cited a high volume of this action, which in past years sometimes raised a few red flags.

 

Czelusta, though, attributed this to the favorable climate for refinancing mortgages and other loans.

 

In other financial updates, Teller County Assessor Colt Simmons reported that Teller received 837 protests regarding the revaluations of property values, which occurred this year.  Oddly enough, the assessor noted this is down from previous revaluation years.

 

He said some cases, which couldn’t be resolved, will now come before the commissioners, who act as the board of equalization.

 

The commissioners, though, asked the assessor why their office’s denial rate is so high, based on the initial protests made by property owners. Stone said he heard reports of a 90 percent denial rate for residential protests.

 

Simmons didn’t disagree, but cautioned that the process is established by the state. He said more details would come forth during the board of equalization hearings, headed by referee Bruce Cummings.