Chapter 11 - § 11.8 • EXTENSION, MODIFICATION, OR RENEWAL

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 11.8 • EXTENSION, MODIFICATION, OR RENEWAL

The lien of a recorded mortgage or deed of trust may be extended without the written agreement of the owner of the property by an instrument signed by the owner of the obligation secured by the lien, or by the person designated in the mortgage or deed of trust as the trustee for the owner of the obligation. The instrument must clearly describe the mortgage or deed of trust and state the date to which the lien is extended, and must be recorded before the expiration of the 15-year period provided for in C.R.S. § 38-39-201(1).¹⁴⁰ Further extensions may be recorded from time to time, but cannot extend the lien of the original mortgage or deed of trust beyond a total of 30 years without the written agreement of the owner of the encumbered property. Each extension must be recorded before the expiration of the period for which the lien may have been extended.¹⁴¹ The 30-year period extends from the original maturity date of the mortgage or deed of trust.¹⁴² The lien may be extended for so long as agreed by a recorded instrument signed by the owner of the obligation secured by the lien and the owner of the encumbered property.¹⁴³ No release or other instrument is necessary to discharge the lien of a recorded mortgage or deed of trust which has expired.¹⁴⁴ Whether an extension agreement constitutes an assumption depends upon the language of the agreement, the surrounding circumstances, and the intention of the parties.¹⁴⁵ An extension of the time to pay the debt secured by the mortgage or deed of trust does not work a surrender or foreclosure of the security.¹⁴⁶

Parties to a modification agreement are assumed to intend a change in the terms of the mortgage,¹⁴⁷ but a modification cannot be used to accomplish a partial release of a deed of trust.¹⁴⁸

A lien established by a mortgage secures an indebtedness, and a mere change in the form of the evidence of indebtedness as in the mode or time of payment does not in itself operate to discharge the mortgage. Parties to a note secured by a mortgage may substitute a new note for the original without impairing the security, although the terms of the two notes are not identical, so long as the original secured debt remains unpaid and there is no increase in the debt.¹⁴⁹ If, on a sale of mortgaged premises, the mortgagee gives up the note secured and takes from the purchaser his or her own note as evidence of the same continuing debt, then the mortgage is not released or...