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Counties Offer Free Foreclosure Information

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Jun 19, 2009 11:31 am US/Mountain

Counties Offer Free Foreclosure Information

Written for the Web by CBS4 Special Projects Producer Libby Smith

Reporting
Jim Benemann
GOLDEN, Colo (CBS4) ― At the Jefferson County Public Trustee's Office, staff members process several hundred foreclosures every month. The number of foreclosed homes has doubled in the last five years.

As the number of foreclosures increases so does the requests to access those records. In 2007, Public Trustee Margaret Chapman instated a new Web-based system to organize and open up those records for the public.

"It's public record and instead of having to trudge down to the courthouse and go to the County Clerk's Office, go to the tax office, go to the Assessor's Office, it's all there," Chapman explained.

It's on the Web in the form of a database where you can search an address or a name and find the foreclosure documents associated with the search.

"Literally you are able to look at every document we have in a foreclosure file," Chapman told CBS4.

Michelle Davison wished she'd checked the database before moving into her latest rental house. She signed the lease in February for the Lakewood home thinking it was a dream-come-true.

"I love the home. I love the neighborhood," Davison said.

About 30 days into her lease, a representative from the mortgage company showed up to assess the property for sale. Davison found out her rental was in foreclosure.

"You feel so very lost and out of control of the situation. It's not your situation," Davison told CBS4.

Davison's situation has changed drastically. She stopped unpacking and now she waits for the day that she's told she has to move out. She checks with the foreclosure lawyers every other week to verify the status of the house.

"I'm not a wealthy woman, I can't just keep moving from home to home," she explained.

She wants everyone to know that preventing a situation like hers is as simple as running the rental address through the foreclosure data base before you sign the lease.

Additional Resources:

Several metro area counties have foreclosure databases that you can search for free including Jefferson County, Denver County, Arapahoe County, Adams County, Boulder County, and Weld County.

Douglas County has a searchable database, but you have to be a subscriber to the Web site.

(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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