- Who sends it
- The lender files in the Iowa District Court for your county. The papers are usually handed to you by the county sheriff
- What it starts
- 20 days after service to serve and file an answer or motion
- Do this first
- Write down the date you were served, count 20 days, and call Iowa Legal Aid at 1-800-532-1503
What these papers are in Iowa
Iowa calls the summons an original notice. Under Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.302, it names the court and the parties, gives the lender's attorney's contact details and the date the petition was filed, states how long you have to respond, and warns that if you do not, a default judgment may be entered for what the petition asks. A copy of the petition is attached. A second copy of the Mortgage Mediation Notice must be served with it (Iowa Code § 654.4B(2)).
Look at the first page of the petition. If the lender chose the faster track, Iowa Code § 654.20 requires a notice in capital letters that begins "NOTICE THE PLAINTIFF HAS ELECTED FORECLOSURE WITHOUT REDEMPTION." Iowa Legal Aid says most lenders make this election. If that notice is not there, the case is on the with-redemption track, and you would have a redemption period after the sale.
What the without-redemption notice means
- The sale will happen promptly after judgment unless you file a written demand to delay it (Iowa Code §§ 654.20, 654.22).
- If you file the demand and the home is your one or two family residence, the sale waits until 6 months after judgment, or 3 months if the petition waives a deficiency judgment (Iowa Code § 654.21).
- You will have no right to buy the home back after the sale, and the buyer gets immediate possession (Iowa Code §§ 654.23, 654.24). You may bid at the sale.
- Check whether the petition waives a deficiency. If it does not, the notice must warn you that filing a demand for delay lets the lender seek a deficiency judgment, while not filing means none can be entered on your one or two family residence (Iowa Code §§ 654.20(2), 654.26).
- Before judgment you can end the case by paying the lender the amount claimed in the petition (Iowa Code § 654.21).
The deadlines and how to count them
- Answer: serve a motion or answer within 20 days after the original notice and petition were served on you, then file it within a reasonable time (Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.303(1)). Count calendar days starting the day after service. If the last day falls on a weekend or a day the clerk's office is closed, it moves to the next business day (Iowa Code § 4.1(34)).
- If you were served by publication, the published notice sets the date, which must be at least 20 days after the last publication (Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.303(4)).
- Demand for delay of sale: file it any time before judgment is entered. After judgment it is too late (Iowa Code § 654.21).
- If you miss the 20 days, the lender must mail you a notice of intent to file for default at least 10 days before it asks the clerk to enter a default.
See how long foreclosure takes in Iowa for what the demand for delay adds.
What to do this week
- Apply to Iowa Legal Aid at 1-800-532-1503, or 1-800-992-8161 if you are 60 or older, and say you have a court deadline. Iowa Legal Aid's foreclosure questions page links to a sample answer and a sample demand for delay of sale.
- Write an answer that responds to the petition and states any defense, such as a wrong amount or a missing or defective notice of right to cure. Serve it on the lender's attorney and file it with the clerk.
- Read the first page for the without-redemption notice and any deficiency waiver. Then decide, with legal advice, whether to file a demand for delay of sale before judgment.
- Iowa courts use electronic filing (EDMS). Iowa Legal Aid says you will get later papers through EDMS unless you are excused from electronic filing. The Iowa Judicial Branch's Representing Yourself page explains how to file.
- Keep working with your servicer and Iowa Mortgage Help at 1-877-622-4866, but do not let that replace your answer.
Where to get help
If you do not qualify for Iowa Legal Aid, the Iowa State Bar Association's Find-A-Lawyer directory lists attorneys who charge $25 or less for up to 30 minutes of first consultation.
- Filing a complaint with a regulator does not stop court deadlines. The Iowa Attorney General says so on its home and property page.
- Bankruptcy can stop a sale, but Iowa Legal Aid warns not to wait until just before a sheriff's sale to talk with a bankruptcy attorney.
- Every option and its cutoff is on how to stop foreclosure in Iowa, and more contacts are on the Iowa foreclosure help page.
The rest of the Iowa process
See how foreclosure works in Iowa, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Iowa, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How long do I have to answer an Iowa foreclosure petition?
20 days after the original notice and petition are served on you (Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.303(1)). You serve the answer on the lender's attorney and file it with the clerk within a reasonable time after that.
Should I file a demand for delay of sale in Iowa?
Iowa Legal Aid says that in most cases you should, because it adds months before the sale. The risk is a deficiency: if the petition does not waive one, filing the demand lets the lender seek it (Iowa Code § 654.26). Get legal advice, and file before judgment.
My Iowa petition does not say foreclosure without redemption. What does that mean?
The lender did not make the election in Iowa Code § 654.20. The sale can be held after judgment, but you keep a right to redeem afterward, generally 1 year and in some cases 3 months, and you can stay in the home during that time (Iowa Code §§ 628.3, 628.26).
Can I stop an Iowa foreclosure by paying before judgment?
Yes, on the without-redemption track. Paying the lender the amount claimed in the petition before judgment requires the case to be dismissed (Iowa Code § 654.21). That is the full amount claimed, unless your servicer agrees to a reinstatement for less.
Other Iowa letters
- Notice of Right to CureBefore an Iowa lender can call your whole loan due or file a foreclosure on the home you live in, it must give you a written notice of right to cure. You then have 30 days to pay the missed installments, or the amount in the notice if that is less. If you cure, your loan goes back to normal.
- Mortgage Mediation NoticeThe Mortgage Mediation Notice is a one-page form that Iowa law requires your lender's attorney to send you twice: with its first letter and again with the foreclosure petition. It tells you free counseling and mediation are available through Iowa Mortgage Help at 1-877-622-4866. Getting it means a foreclosure has started or is about to.
- Notice of Intent to File Written Application for DefaultIf you did not answer the foreclosure petition within 20 days, the lender must mail you a notice of intent to file written application for default before the clerk can enter your default. It gives you at least 10 days, counted from the date it was mailed. Treat it as your last warning to file an answer and, in most cases, a demand for delay of sale.
- Notice of Sheriff's SaleAfter judgment, the county sheriff sells the home at a public auction. The sale must be posted and published at least 4 weeks ahead, and if you live in the home the sheriff must serve you with written notice at least 20 days before. Whether you can stay after the sale depends on which track your case is on.
- Three-day notice to quit after a sheriff's saleAfter an Iowa foreclosure sale, you can be removed only by court order. Iowa Legal Aid says many foreclosure decrees already contain that order. If yours does not, the buyer must give you a written 3-day notice to quit before filing an eviction case, and the court then sets a hearing within about 8 days of filing.
Sources
- Iowa Code § 654.20 (foreclosure without redemption: required notice)
- Iowa Code § 654.21 (demand for delay of sale)
- Iowa Code § 654.22 (no demand for delay of sale)
- Iowa Code § 654.26 (no deficiency judgment in certain cases)
- Iowa Code § 4.1 (computing time, subsection 34)
- Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, chapter 1 (rules 1.302, 1.303)
- Iowa Legal Aid: Foreclosure and Forfeiture Questions and Answers
- Iowa Legal Aid: Mortgage Foreclosures and Land Contract Forfeitures