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Delaware · What this letter means

Delaware foreclosure letters and notices

The papers Delaware homeowners receive, in the order they usually arrive. Each page uses the name on the Delaware document, explains the deadline it starts under Delaware law, and lists what to do this week.

  1. Step 1

    Notice of Intent to Foreclose ("Notice Required by Delaware Law: Take Action to Save Your Home from Foreclosure")

    This is the notice Delaware law requires before a lender can file a foreclosure case on an owner-occupied home with 1 to 4 units. The lender must wait 45 days after sending it before it can file in Superior Court. Use those days to check the numbers, call a free housing counselor and apply for help.

    What it means
  2. Step 2

    Writ of Scire Facias Sur Mortgage and Complaint

    A writ of scire facias sur mortgage, served with a complaint, means your lender has filed a foreclosure case against your home in the Delaware Superior Court. Your deadlines run from the day you were served. For a home you live in, a mediation notice should be attached to the front.

    What it means
  3. Step 3

    Notice of Foreclosure Mediation and Certificate of Participation

    This notice comes attached to the front of the foreclosure complaint. It tells you a free mediation conference with your lender will be scheduled 45 to 75 days after you were served. To take full part, meet a HUD-approved housing counselor and file the Certificate of Participation within 30 days.

    What it means
  4. Step 4

    Notice of Sheriff's Sale (advertisement of sale of real estate)

    A Delaware notice of sheriff's sale means the court has entered judgment and the sheriff has set a date to auction your home. The sale is not final until the Superior Court confirms it, usually the next month. Until then you can still object or redeem.

    What it means
  5. Step 5

    Rule to Show Cause Why a Writ of Possession Should Not Be Awarded

    This court paper means the buyer at the sheriff's sale has asked the Superior Court for a writ of possession to put the buyer in possession of the home. You get a date to tell the court why the writ should not be issued. The writ cannot issue until the court makes the rule absolute.

    What it means

Got a letter not listed here? See every foreclosure letter explained, or how foreclosure works in Delaware.