The Rocky Mountain News reports from Colorado. "The foreclosure tsunami is starting to sweep over some of Denver's most exclusive neighborhoods. Homes priced at $1 million or more in places like Cherry Hills, Cherry Creek Country Club and LoDo are popping up more frequently on foreclosure rolls. On a recent week, the Douglas County Public Trustee received six new filings for $1 million-plus homes entering the foreclosure process."

"Dave Marshall is president of Landmark Custom Homes, one of the builders in Cherry Creek Country Club. Some of his homes and land parcels are in foreclosure there, according to records."

"And two to three years ago, when the luxury market was still thriving, builders were forced to pay lot premiums for the best sites. 'No one saw how severe the coming recession and (the) mortgage loan meltdown would be,' he noted."

"'This slow-moving market is leading to some foreclosures in the upper end,' Marshall said. 'It is bound to happen. Ironically, it happens more in the best developments because that is where the most homes were built.'"

The Aspen Daily News from Colorado. "Real Estate Transfer Tax collections are already down 37 percent this year off of 2007, which was at the end of a three-year spike in real estate volumes that peaked in 2006 with $2.5 billion in area sales volume."

"The city's general fund, which is fed primarily by sales and property taxes, could face troubled times. 'I think we are at the beginning, not the end (of an economic downturn),' said City Manager Steve Barwick. 'There are a lot of credit and debt problems that will take years to work through.'"

"Council members agreed that the city needs to be prudent in the face of an economic downturn. 'We need to be prepared for that outcome,' Mayor Mick Ireland said. 'It is serious."

The Grande Junction Free Press from Colorado. "There are signs the Western Slope took some hits in the first half of the year. 'When I moved here a couple of years ago I had to turn away work,' said Jeff Tanksley, who is a general contractor in Grand Junction."

"'I was busy ... I didn't have to advertise. It (business) was going strong. Now, I am not seeing the same thing happening. I am seeing people afraid to spend their money. Instead of a total (home) remodel they are doing a room or two,' he said."

"The 20-year industry veteran added, 'They are cutting back for a good reason - the uncertainty of the economy.'"

"Some local real estate agents say they are getting a sense that qualified buyers seem unwilling to do deals. 'It seems like the people that can buy things are not. They are sitting on the sidelines,' said Mark Abbott, who is a real estate broker in Grand Junction. 'And people who want to own stuff are not getting qualified.'"

The Salt Lake Tribune from Utah. "The ads said, 'Dare to Dream,' and Jeff Denison was among dozens who did. All he had to do to get into Utah's red-hot real estate market in 2006 was sign a contract with Dare to Dream Investments. That signature allowed his good credit to underwrite the purchase of a building lot and construction of a house."

"Denison liked the program so much, he signed up for two houses. Now he's left holding the bag on two $300,000 mortgages beyond the one he owes on his actual home."

"And...houses in Grantsville aren't selling to Wasatch Front commuters like they once were. Making matters even worse, the structures have piles of liens against them by subcontractors who didn't get paid. Denison is struggling to find money for them, too."

"'The biggest thing I've lost is my good credit [rating],' he said. 'I'm trying not to go into foreclosure. But I've had to go 30 days, 60 days late [on mortgage payments]. I just can't keep up with it.'"

"Attorney, Brennan Moss said some of his clients are left with mortgages of $600,000 to $700,000 on homes that are worth only $450,000 in today's market. Some of the houses have not been completed."

"'The scheme may have worked for a time when housing prices were going up rapidly,' he said. 'But Dare to Dream played fast and loose. It's terrible. It's devastating.'"

"In March, Kimberly Schneider, who ran Transform America Mortgage and Dare to Dream filed for personal bankruptcy. Transform America Mortgage and Dare to Dream no longer exist."

"In an interview, Schneider denied fraudulent activity. And she is broke, she said, to the extent she can't even hire a lawyer to defend against the lawsuits."

"'The market crashed in July [2007], and we couldn't close our loans,' she said. 'I cried the entire month. It's my entire world.'"

"The lot appraisals and construction bids were all independent, she insisted - not part of a scheme. Schneider explained that her parents lost their life savings in the Dare to Dream venture. She, too, poured all of her own money into the program in an effort to keep it afloat. And her brother holds mortgages on two houses he purchased through Dare to Dream."

"'If we were doing any form of fraud, would I expose them like this?' she asked, noting that investors were left with properties, while she has nothing. 'The money that was lost was our money.'"

In Business Las Vegas from Nevada. "Clark County is preparing to file civil action this month against the Meridian Luxury Suites to stop its operation as a condo hotel. The Meridian has been leasing its condo units as a hotel for months and was even featured by In Business Las Vegas in April for the concept that was a new chapter for the condo conversion market."

"In previous interviews, Meridian General Manager Eric Lynn said that of the 678 condos in the complex, 450 decided to participate in the hotel concept that requires them to buy new furniture for their units that ranged anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000."

"Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani says the owners of the complex, American Invsco of Chicago, are taking advantage of the people who bought the units and got them to invest money in furniture without being authorized to do so."

"'It is another example of a greedy corporation taking advantage of out-of-state investors who put in their life savings,' Giunchigliani says."

The Review Journal from Nevada. "Ronald Cowan thought he'd be living the high life in Las Vegas, rubbing elbows with sports stars and celebrities. Cowan plunked down $132,000 for a deposit at Palms Place, the swank condo-hotel tower that opened earlier this year next to the Palms."

"One slight problem: He can't close escrow on his $663,000 unit. Cowan, of Cambria, Calif., was hoping to sell his property in nearby Grover Beach and use the proceeds in an Internal Revenue Service code 1031 exchange to buy the unit at Palms Place."

"'I would love to close (escrow) and stay in the project,' Cowan said. 'I'm in real estate and with a stated income, you can't get a loan. Maybe if you put 50 percent down. Call it whatever, reality is what it is.'"

"Cowan isn't the only condo buyer in that sinking boat. Tighter credit requirements squeezed some buyers out of financing. Other people simply want to cut their losses on condos that are appraising for sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the sales price. They want out of their contracts, preferably with deposits refunded."

"Robert Daniels wishes he'd held off buying a 910-square-foot unit at Juhl, the mid-rise development by San Diego-based CityMark in downtown Las Vegas, for $440,000. He sees 1,600-square-foot units at nearby Newport Lofts and SoHo Lofts going for about the same price."

"'How are these units going to appraise for what we paid for them?' Daniels wondered. 'Now I've got a guy who said, 'Make me an offer' at either Newport or SoHo. It's going to cost me $3,000 a month to keep it alive and I can only rent it for $1,000.'"

"Daniels is assuming he's lost 20 percent in value at Juhl and may walk away from his deposit, but he's not whining about it. 'I took my shot. It didn't work out,' he said. 'This is Las Vegas. Some people win, some people lose. Who are the winners, anyway?'"

"Many people bought high-rise condos in Las Vegas on pure speculation, hoping to 'flip' the units, Realtor Steve Hawks said. 'Owners wanting out are having a horrific time unloading them,' Hawks said. 'One reason is many have dropped in price, so much that they owe more than it's worth. Units that were once $1.4 million are now $700,000 and units that were $600,000 to $900,000 are now $350,000 to $600,000 and are continuing to free-fall with no end in sight.'"

"Buyers at Mira Villa condos, a project by HDB that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, are worried they may never see their earnest money again. Randa Bishop said she has good credit and assets, including a $1.5 million apartment in New York, and wanted to get an interest-only loan with 20 percent down on her $740,000 unit at Mira Villa, plus about $60,000 in upgrades."

"'If they come and say the property only appraises at $700,000, I still have to cough up an additional $100,000 for the difference,' she said. 'That I don't like. I would probably be better walking away from it with my money and wait three months or six months and go back in and buy it.'"

"Signs of 'vertical Vegas' going flat are becoming more evident every day, Hawks said. Homeowners association fees weren't an issue when units were originally purchased because most buyers were looking to flip the units, he said. When that didn't pan out, the first thing some people did was stop paying homeowners association fees."

"'Some homeowners associations are on the verge of being broke,' he said. 'Amenities are being drastically cut from security to landscaping. The hallway carpets in some complexes are stained and smell like vomit from Vegas partiers that rented units from owners getting foreclosed on.'"

"Judy Anderson, an attorney from Walnut Creek, Calif., sent a letter to Slade Development, developer of Vantage Lofts, terminating her sales contract and demanding that her $40,000 deposit be returned."

"She said the contract stipulated that her unit be completed in two years, which would have been June 3. 'It's probably overpriced,' Anderson said of the $540,000 unit. 'For me, this is good to get out, but I want my money back. I'm entitled to it.'"

"The mortgage meltdown has claimed 14 more victims: a Reno-area couple and their 12 adopted children. Dave and Kathy Bain of Spanish Springs are facing foreclosure on their 3,400-square-foot home after falling behind on payments."

The Bains moved into the house in January 2007, six months before they adopted nine of the children, including eight siblings. The couple, who earlier adopted three children, weren't able to rent out their previous, smaller home until last September."

"Also last year, Kathy Bain switched to part-time work, then stopped working altogether to take care of the 12 children, ages 3 to 16. With their old house rented, she said they now are able to make payments on the new house."

"However, their lender, GreenPoint Mortgage, is foreclosing because they're behind $20,000 in payments, she said."

"'Here I am with 12 kids at home that I need a home for ... I need this size of house,' Kathy Bain told the Reno Gazette-Journal. 'It's hard for me to ask for help, but I need some guidance on where to go from here.'"