Starting in 2002, the Colorado legislature began to make it easier to foreclose on properties in Colorado. Original loan documents are no longer required to prove the bank actually owns the property.
As the practice of buying and selling mortgages increased from 2002 to 2008, the Colorado legislature and public trustees were looking for ways to make the foreclosure practice simpler, says Migoya.
"The changes meant banks no longer had to provide original documents at a foreclosure, just affidavits from lawyers saying the bank owned the notes and got them legally."
"Others say the foreclosure process has become so heavily weighted in favor of lenders and their lawyers - much of it with the help of the trustees - that homeowners stand little chance of finding fairness in a system that's supposed to ensure equal justice."
According to Migoya, Colorado has a unique system that puts the foreclosure process into the hands of public trustees, rather than the courts. He says the changes were intended to streamline the foreclosure process and make it easier for homeowners to protect their property.
Thanks to Cathie Pagano
FULL STORY: Colorado public trustees pushed to make it easier to foreclose on homes
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association