Bidding Policies
Counter Rules
The Denver Public Trustee holds a foreclosure auction every Thursday at 10:00 a.m., except during the
week of Christmas, in which we do not hold an auction. The auction that falls on Thanksgiving is always
moved to the day before, Wednesday, and is held at 10:00 a.m. on that day.
In order to participate in the bidding process, bidders must submit a Bidder Registration form in
person. Registration forms are available in fillable PDF format at www.DenverClerkandRecorder.org or
at the Public Trustee reception desk. The Bidder Registration form must be filled out prior to arriving at
the Public Trustee reception desk. (Make sure your email address is legible on your Bidder Registration
form. We will not be responsible for sending the Certificate of Purchase to an illegible email address.)
No incomplete bidder registration forms will be accepted. No emails or faxes of bidder registration forms
will be accepted.
The Denver Public Trustee requires that bidders fill out a separate bidder registration form for each
property they wish to bid on. Each form submitted will be stapled with a bidder’s ticket and the Public
Trustee number will be written on the reverse side of the ticket. The bidder will receive a copy of this
ticket as a precaution against the bidder registration form being misplaced. Bidders must have one
ticket for each bidder registration form filled out. If the ticket cannot be produced, the bid is void
and the bidder will not be allowed to bid on the property. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Note: The ticket system acts as a fraud prevention measure and bidders are required to hold
onto their tickets until the auction is concluded, at which time the tickets may be discarded.
The Denver Public Trustee will not apply a single check to more than one foreclosure sale. A separate
check must be submitted for each property purchased at auction. The Denver Public Trustee will not
collect checks at the beginning of the auction. Bidders will be required to hold their own money during
the course of the auction.
Note: Overbid funds and refunds of overpayments will not be available for a minimum of 7
business days.
Bidders must have certified funds (cash, cashier’s checks, teller’s checks, or official checks are the only
acceptable options) equaling the amount of the bank’s bid plus $1.00 and this check must be made
payable to “Denver Public Trustee”. Make sure you check your cashier’s check in its entirety to assure
that it is made out correctly with correct dollar figures and signatures. The Denver Public Trustee will
not accept checks made out to private parties, third-party individuals or companies. Making out a check
in a larger amount than the bank bid plus $1.00 confers no advantage, but is allowed. The Denver
Public Trustee has an open auction pool. Any bidder who has the amount of the bank’s bid plus $1.00
in certified funds may win a multiple-bidder auction.
In the event of an overbid, the winning bidder must return with the remaining funds due in certified form
no later than 2:00 p.m. the same day of the auction or forfeit the transaction. In the event of a forfeited
auction, all funds received for that property from the would-be winning bidder will not be returned for a
period of 2 weeks (14 calendar days). In order to retrieve the funds, the would-be winning bidder In
order to retrieve the funds, the would-be winning bidder must present their receipt to the Public Trustee.
If the receipt cannot be provided, the proceeds will be deposited and a Public Trustee refund check will
be processed within 5 business days of the auction. Please Note: Wire transfers are not accepted
for additional funds needed to pay for the property in full.
DCR4006 rev.06/28/2013
Bidding Instructions, Page 2 of 3
Note: In the event that the winning bidder does not arrive at the Public Trustee’s office by 2:00 p.m.,
the following will occur:
We will send out an email (between 2:00 and 3:30 p.m.) to all remaining bidders with bidder registration
forms on record for that property auction who voiced a bid amount. (Make sure your email address is
legible on your bidder registration form; the Denver Public Trustee will not be responsible for sending
the email to an illegible email address.) The remaining third-party bidders who are still interested in the
property must be in the Public Trustee’s office at 4:30 p.m. on auction day with certified funds in the
amount of each of their respective highest bids for the property at the auction. The Public Trustee will
go in order, from the second highest to the lowest bid made at the auction for the given property, and
shall deem the highest bidder present with the appropriate amount and type of funds to be the
successful bidder.
In summary:
o If the highest bidder on a given property auction does not come to the Public Trustee’s office with their
amount due by 2:00 p.m. on auction day, the bidder forfeits his or her rights to the property. All other
bidders who voiced a bid and had valid bidder registration forms for that property auction will be sent
an email announcing that the sale is still open and instructing them to be at the Public Trustee’s office
at 4:30 p.m. on auction day with certified funds in the amount of their respective high bids at auction
on the given property. Interested third-party bidders who are still interested must obtain their certified
funds and be present in the Public Trustee’s office at 4:30 p.m. auction day.
The Denver Public Trustee does accept bank wires for the initial bank’s bid amount plus $1.00 or more
by the end of day on the business day before the auction. Instructions for bank wires can be found online at www.DenverClerkandRecorder.org or at the Denver Public Trustee reception counter.
Note: All wires require an extra processing fee of $15.00 in addition to your bid funds.
If, at the end of a given auction, the Public Trustee is not in receipt of funds in the forms previously
specified for at least the bank’s bid plus $1.00, the auction is null and void and the Denver Public
Trustee will immediately conduct a new auction for the same property.
In order to process the multitude of bids received, it is necessary to halt acceptance of bidder
registration forms at the reception counter at 9:45 a.m. Time is official based on the Public Trustee
clock. Bidders wishing to participate in the auction must have the bidder registration form timestamped at the Denver Public Trustee reception counter no later than 9:45 a.m. sharp or it will not be
honored. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE. Therefore, it is highly recommended that all bidders
arrive at the auction in a timely manner.
Bidding Procedures
Non-bidding onlookers are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Properties can be pulled from the auction up to the commencement of the auction, as required by
C.R.S.§38-38-109. As a result, it is possible that a property was scheduled for auction when a bidder
registration form was accepted at the Denver Public Trustee reception counter, but is no longer
scheduled for auction at the commencement of the auction. If a property is pulled, the Public Trustee
sale number will be posted on the video monitor in the hall outside of the auction venue.
Note: Requests to pull properties from an auction come via email and may also come via postal
mail. In the event of a delayed request from the lender or their attorney to pull a bid which can
be documented as having been sent to the Pubic Trustee before the 10:00 a.m. deadline,
the results for that auction will be considered null and void. In the event of a voided auction, all
funds received for that property from the would-be winning bidder will be returned on the next
business day after the sale. In order to retrieve the funds, the would-be winning bidder must
present their receipt to the Public Trustee. The auction will then be rescheduled per the
continuance request.
The Denver Public Trustee will begin every sale by auctioning single-bidder properties first so as not to
keep these bidders waiting unnecessarily through a succession of multiple bid properties. As soon as
each single bidder’s check is deemed valid, the bidder may take his or her receipt and leave the
auction, or remain for the rest of the auction.
Bidding Instructions, Page 3 of 3
Bidding
At the auction, bidders will be called on in random order. The first party to place a bid is required to beat
the lender’s initial bid by no more or less than $1.00. The next bidder must round up their total bid to a
multiple of $100, and each subsequent bidder must call out bids in multiples of $500 thereafter. In all
cases, each bid must not advance the prior bid by more than $2,500 or 20 percent of the lender’s initial
bid, whichever is the lesser amount.
At the conclusion of each auction, the winning bidder will be asked to immediately present his or her
funds to the clerk who will determine whether or not the winning bidder’s check is valid. If the check is
deemed valid, a receipt will be issued. If the check is deemed invalid, the auction is void and a new
auction will be immediately conducted.
Bids are considered final when entered into the computer on the bid sheet. Once your bid has been
entered, it cannot be changed and will be considered final. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Note: If the Public Trustee suspects fraud or collusion or abuse of the proper bidding
protocol, the Public Trustee reserves the right to stop the auction and contact the property’s
foreclosing attorney to continue to sale to the following week. The Public Trustee also
reserves the right to ban abusers of the auction process from current and future auctions on
a temporary or permanent basis.
Note: Bidding is conducted on each property separately. Jumping in and out of the bidding
pool on a particular property is not permitted. If a bidder’s name is called and the bidder
chooses to pass, that bidder has permanently withdrawn his or her name from the bidding
pool for that property.
Post-Auction Data
Auction results will be available at the Denver Public Trustee’s office in hard copy format by noon on
the day of auction. Auction results will be posted on the Clerk and Recorder website by 2:00 p.m.
auction day.
Note: If auction results are not posted on the website by 2:00 p.m. auction day, please call the
Public Trustee’s office and request a copy of the auction results be emailed. A continuance list will
be posted at the same time as the auction results.
Winning bidders will be emailed a Certificate of Purchase (COP) within five business days of the auction.
It is up to the bidder to ensure that the email address is clearly written on the bidder registration form.
Once title is vested (after all redemption periods have expired), the COP holder may request a
Confirmation Deed, forms for which are now available at the Denver Public Trustee reception desk or
online at www.DenverClerkandRecorder.org. The cost for processing a confirmation deed is $30.00 for
the deed and a recording fee of $11.00 or more depending on the number of pages to be recorded
Note: Files where the Notice of Election and Demand were recorded on or after 09-01-2012, will
have the cost of the confirmation deed built into the bid, therefore confirmation deeds will
automatically be recorded on business day 19, unless an intent to redeem has been filed.
Other Considerations
Bidders are responsible for making themselves aware of any title concerns that may exist for any
property that is in the Denver Public Trustee auction. The Public Trustee has no legal obligation to
provide to any bidder any information or documentation pertaining to the state or quality of the
title for the foreclosed property.
Title to a property that is successfully bid upon during the Public Trustee auction will vest in accordance
with state statutory requirements as provided in C.R.S.§38-38-501.
Bankruptcy supersedes any sale at auction. In the event that the Public Trustee is notified by the
foreclosing attorney of a bankruptcy filing, the sale will be considered null and void and all funds
received for that property from the would-be winning bidder will be returned on the next business day
after the sale. In order to retrieve the funds, the would-be winning bidder must present their receipt to
the Public Trustee’s office. If the receipt cannot be provided, the proceeds will be deposited and a
Public Trustee refund check will be processed within five business day of the auction.
DCR4006 rev.06/28/2013