- Who sends it
- The mortgage company, by handing it to you or by delivering or mailing it to your home, after you have been in default for at least 10 days
- What it starts
- 20 days in which the lender cannot call the whole loan due, and you can cure by paying what is past due plus unpaid late fees
- Do this first
- Find the cure amount and the pay-by date printed on the notice, and call Kansas Legal Services at 316-267-3975
What this notice is in Kansas
Since January 1, 2025, the Kansas right to cure rule for mortgages is in the Kansas Mortgage Business Act, at K.S.A. 9-2234. It applies only to a "covered transaction." Under K.S.A. 9-2201(m), that means a subordinate mortgage (such as a second mortgage or home equity loan), or a loan whose loan-to-value ratio was over 100% when it was made, unless it is backed by a federal government agency.
Most first mortgages are not covered. If your loan is not covered, you may never get this notice, and Kansas law does not require one before a foreclosure suit. Your mortgage contract may still promise its own notice, so read it.
The notice must be in writing and must clearly state the mortgage company's name, address and phone number, a short description of the loan, your right to cure, the amount and the date by which you must pay to cure, and that you may owe reasonable collection costs such as court costs and attorney fees (K.S.A. 9-2234(a)(2)).
What it does and does not mean
- It is not a lawsuit. No court case has started yet. The court papers come later as a summons and petition.
- It is a warning that the lender plans to call the whole loan due (accelerate) if you do not cure.
- During the 20 days, the lender cannot accelerate the loan or take the property because of the missed payments (K.S.A. 9-2234(b)).
- Curing restores your rights under the loan as if the default had not happened.
- It is a one-time right. After a lender has given you this notice once, later defaults on the same loan come with no new right to cure (K.S.A. 9-2234(c)).
The deadline it starts and how to count it
- The notice counts as given when it is handed to you, or delivered or mailed to your home (K.S.A. 9-2234(a)(1)). If it came by mail, the clock may have started on the mailing date, not the day you opened it.
- Count 20 calendar days from the day the notice was given. Weekends and holidays count. To be safe, pay by the date printed on the notice.
- To cure, pay all unpaid amounts due at the time you pay, without the accelerated balance, plus any unpaid late fees (K.S.A. 9-2234(b)).
- Federal rules generally still bar the servicer from filing a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind, whatever this notice says.
See how long foreclosure takes in Kansas for the full timeline.
What to do this week
- Write the pay-by date on your calendar.
- Call the number on the notice and ask for the exact cure amount in writing, good through the date you plan to pay.
- If you can pay, pay in a way you can prove, and keep the receipt.
- If you cannot pay in full, ask the servicer in writing about a repayment plan, forbearance or modification, and send a complete application.
- Call Kansas Legal Services at 316-267-3975 or apply online. It gives free advice or representation to eligible homeowners threatened with foreclosure.
- Read how to stop foreclosure in Kansas for every option and its cutoff.
Free help and scam warnings
Kansas Legal Services says there is free foreclosure help, and that anyone who asks you to pay in advance for help is not legitimate. Kansas has no state mortgage payment program open now: Kansas Housing Resources Corporation says the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund stopped taking applications on December 15, 2023.
- Kansas has no law written just for foreclosure consultants, but a company that charges to negotiate lower or delayed payments on your debts generally needs a license from the State Bank Commissioner (K.S.A. 50-1118).
- If your mortgage company did not follow the rules, you can file a complaint with the Office of the State Bank Commissioner at 785-380-3939, which licenses Kansas mortgage companies.
- The Kansas foreclosure help page lists more.
The rest of the Kansas process
See how foreclosure works in Kansas, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Kansas, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
Why did I get a Kansas right to cure notice on my second mortgage but not my first?
Because K.S.A. 9-2234 covers only "covered transactions": subordinate mortgages and loans made for more than 100% of value that are not federally backed (K.S.A. 9-2201(m)). An ordinary first mortgage is not covered, so its lender does not have to send this notice under Kansas law.
How much do I have to pay to cure a Kansas right to cure notice?
All unpaid sums due at the time you pay, without the accelerated balance, plus any unpaid late fees (K.S.A. 9-2234(b)). The notice must state the amount and the date to pay by. Ask for the figure in writing before you pay.
I cured once before. Do I get another Kansas right to cure notice?
No. Once a lender has given you a notice of right to cure on a loan, later defaults on the same loan come with no new right to cure, and the lender can go ahead without one (K.S.A. 9-2234(c)).
My old paperwork cites the Kansas consumer credit code for the right to cure. Is that still right?
Not for mortgages. The rule now sits in the Kansas Mortgage Business Act at K.S.A. 9-2234, effective January 1, 2025. Older guides that cite the consumer credit code for mortgage loans are out of date.
Other Kansas letters
- Summons and petition (foreclosure lawsuit)In Kansas, a lender can only foreclose on your home by suing you in district court. The case starts when you are served with a summons and a copy of the petition. You have 21 days after service to serve a written answer, or the lender can ask for a default judgment.
- Journal entry of judgment and decree of foreclosureIn Kansas, a judgment is not effective until the judge signs a journal entry or judgment form and it is filed with the clerk. In a foreclosure, it sets the amount owed, orders the home sold by the sheriff, and sets your redemption period after the sale. That period decides how long you can stay.
- Notice of sheriff's saleThe notice of sheriff's sale gives the time and place of the auction of your home under the court's order of sale. Kansas law requires it to be published in a newspaper once a week for 3 weeks in a row. After the sale, the judge must still confirm it, and you usually keep a right to redeem.
- Sheriff's return of sale and order confirming saleAfter the auction, the sheriff reports the sale to the court in a return of sale. The judge then decides whether to confirm it. Before confirmation, you can ask the judge to refuse a very low bid or to credit the fair value of your home against what you owe.
- Certificate of purchaseIn Kansas, when a home sold at a sheriff's sale is subject to redemption, the buyer gets a certificate of purchase. It says the buyer will get a deed unless the home is redeemed. Until then you are entitled to live in the home and can buy it back through the clerk of the district court.
Sources
- K.S.A. 9-2234 (cure of default and notice of right to cure)
- K.S.A. 9-2201 (definitions, including covered transaction)
- Kansas Legal Services: Foreclosure Prevention, KLS Can Help
- Kansas Housing Resources Corporation: Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund
- Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner: File a Complaint