What are your options to get a foreclosure that you have cured removed from public records in CO?

Answer 1

Once they have found a solution that allows them to save their house from foreclosure, many homeowners would like to delete any mention of the proceedings from their credit or property record. Because the foreclosure was cured and the mortgage either reinstated or paid off, they should be able to get it off of their histories, right? Wrong. Too often, the fact that a house went into foreclosure will haunt the homeowners long into the future.

On the credit record, having a string of late mortgage payments leading up to the foreclosure will severely damage the owners' scores. Being able to solve the problem before losing the house completely may not impact the history in a significant way, since the negative payment history is often not far enough removed in time. It will take a number of months to begin repairing the credit if the homeowners were able to save their home, and it may take years to qualify for a new loan if they lost the house to the foreclosure.

Getting the foreclosure removed from the credit report is also extremely difficult. It can be done, but it is unlikely and would take much work on the part of the property owners. In essence, to remove a foreclosed loan from the credit history, the debtors would have to persuade the mortgage company to request that the credit reporting agencies no longer show it on their records. Otherwise, there is usually no way to get a foreclosure removed in order to boost a credit score.

County records are even more difficult to remove once they have been recorded. Because the county keeps all documents that ever affected a particular property, they will not be willing to delete any foreclosure or other lawsuit court documents from appearing in relation to the house. Counties even keep foreclosure, deed history, and mortgages from previous owners, so that anyone can perform a title search through public records and verify ownership and liens.

The fact that the county is most often the keeper of all these historic documents means that homeowners who faced foreclosure, even if they were able to save their house, will always have those documents in their name in regards to the house. Their ability to stop foreclosure does not negate the fact that the documents were filed in the first place. On the positive side, however, is the fact that, once a house is taken out of foreclosure, those documents will also be recorded and anyone searching the property will be able to see that the owners prevented the loss of the home.

Public records and credit agencies often keep documents for far longer than homeowners would prefer, especially if they are constant reminders of a financial hardship. The credit agencies only keep foreclosure records for 7-10 years, while county records are kept virtually forever. It is possible, but unlikely to remove a foreclosure from a credit report, but essentially impossible to get the county to hide away those documents. After all, they are only providing a history of a particular property, and foreclosure can play a role in the history of a house.