Because Colorado is the only state that handles foreclosures through a public trustee, the takeovers continue to climb here, just as some mortgage companies are halting foreclosures around the nation amid questions about banking practices. But now, some in the legal community wonder if the process servers should be slowed in Colorado, too, reports The Denver Post.

It's hard to know if foreclosures have followed proper procedure, says real estate attorney Robert Goodbinder, because the homeowners often don't have lawyers: "We've got a huge number of foreclosures, and the borrowers aren't qualified to determine whether there's a problem. Judges don't set these for a hearing unless somebody files an appropriate response. Virtually no one who is a borrower would know what to look for."

Foreclosure filings in the state were at 3,142 in August, up from July's 2,718, and down from 3,496 in August 2009.

State Attorney General John Suthers recently asked Ally Financial Inc., which stopped evictions in 23 states upon concern that foreclosure processes were illegal, to also freeze actions by its GMAC Mortgage unit in Colorado. In a letter, Suthers wanted to be sure the company was providing "fair and accurate representations" during foreclosure actions, according to Bloomberg News.

On the other side of the coin, homeowners desperate to save their properties are falling into the trap of rescue scams, but a hotline aims to help curtail the fraud, notes the Northern Colorado Business Report.