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Foreclosure Filings Drop In Colorado

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May 12, 2009 9:40 pm US/Mountain

Foreclosure Filings Drop In Colorado

Reporting
Mike Hooker
DENVER (CBS4) ― The number of Coloradans falling behind on their house payments is increasing, but the newest foreclosure statistics aren't all bad news. More homeowners are keeping themselves out of the most serious trouble.

The number of new foreclosure filings has dropped in Colorado and credit counselors say, perhaps more importantly, the number of foreclosure sales -- homes that the owner couldn't save -- have dropped significantly as credit counselors like Sara Gilbert work with homeowners to help them avoid foreclosure.

"It just means that people have access to some of the options that are available out there from their lenders. That's what we think is happening, Gilbert said. She works with Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

From January through March statewide foreclosure sales dropped 26 percent compared to last year. A few examples: Denver County was down 48 percent, Larimer County was down 24 percent, and Jefferson County dropped 14 percent.

One big reason foreclosure sales are lower is that homeowners are having more success restructuring their loans. Credit counselors in Larimer County say compared to last year, the number of successfully restructured loans has tripled.

"I think the economy's a little bit better now. Construction people may have found some sort of income," said Bonnie Kearney with Neighbor to Neighbor, a counseling service.

Kearney says she's helping twice as many people these days, which means more troubled homeowners are finding solutions to their mortgage problems.

"Now with counseling, with the direction of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline people are being sent to counselors, they're getting their education and they're understanding their options," Kearney said.

The new numbers show foreclosure filing dropping overall, but still increasing in some counties, so there's still a lot of recession pain, but at least more people are finding pain relief.

Colorado appears to be doing better than the rest of the nation when it comes to foreclosures. New numbers will be released Wednesday, showing the national foreclosure rate jumped in April. RealtyTrac will report details showing the number of households nationwide faced with losing their homes jumped 32 percent in April. More than 342,000 households got at least one foreclosure notice last month.

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