- Who sends it
- The trustee or the trustee's attorney records it, and a copy is mailed to you by registered or certified mail within 10 days after recording
- What it starts
- A 1-month cure window (2 months for some farm property) and the earliest date a notice of trustee's sale can be given
- Do this first
- Find the recording date on your copy, mark 1 month later, and ask the trustee in writing for the exact cure amount
What this document is in Nebraska
Most Nebraska homes bought with a trust deed (also called a deed of trust) can be sold by a trustee without a court case, under the Nebraska Trust Deeds Act. Before the trustee can use that power of sale, the trustee or its attorney must record a notice of default with the register of deeds in the county where the home is (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1006(1)(a)).
The notice must identify your trust deed by the trustor's name and its book and page or computer reference, describe the property, say that a breach of the loan has happened, explain what the breach is, and say the trustee has elected to sell the property.
Every trust deed must ask that copies of any notice of default be mailed to the people who signed it. Within 10 days after recording, the trustee or beneficiary or its attorney must mail you a copy, with the recording date shown on it, by registered or certified mail (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1008(2), (3)). If no address for you is in the trust deed, the notice is published in a newspaper 3 weeks in a row instead (§ 76-1008(4)).
What it does and does not mean
- It does not set a sale date. A separate Notice of Trustee's Sale does that, and it cannot be given until at least 1 month after this notice is recorded (§ 76-1006(1)(c)).
- It is not a court case. If you get a summons and complaint instead, see the Nebraska summons and complaint page.
- It does not mean you must pay the whole loan to stop it. During the cure window, the law lets you pay only what is past due (§ 76-1012(1)).
- If the home is used in farming by the trustor and is outside a city or village, the notice must also state the 2-month cure window, the unpaid principal, interest and per diem, and the part of the principal that would not be due without the default (§ 76-1006(1)(b)).
The deadline it starts and how to count it
- Cure window: 1 month from the day the notice of default was filed for record, or 2 months for the farm property described above (§ 76-1012(1)). Count from the recording date printed on your copy, not the day you opened the envelope. The same calendar date one month later is the safest last day; do not wait for it.
- What you pay to cure: the entire amount then due, not counting principal that would not be due without the default, plus costs actually incurred in enforcing the loan and trustee's fees of no more than $50 or one half of one percent of the unpaid principal, whichever is greater (§ 76-1012(1)).
- If you cure in time, the proceedings must be dismissed and the loan and trust deed are reinstated as if no acceleration happened. You can then demand that the beneficiary have the trustee record a cancellation of the notice of default (§ 76-1012(1)).
- Court decisions printed with the statute say a cure needs a real tender of payment, meaning an offer with the present ability to pay right away, not just a promise.
- After the window: if you later pay the entire amount then due before the sale, the lender may collect its actual costs and trustee's fees up to what the trust deed allows (§ 76-1012(2)). Ask the trustee what it will accept.
See how long foreclosure takes in Nebraska for the full timeline.
What to do this week
- Write the recording date and the 1-month cure date on your calendar.
- Write to the trustee or trustee's attorney named on the notice and ask for the exact cure amount, itemized, and how and where to pay it. Keep a copy.
- Call your servicer and ask about a repayment plan, forbearance or loan modification. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can help you apply.
- Call Legal Aid of Nebraska's AccessLine at 1-877-250-2016, or 1-800-527-7249 if you are 60 or older, and ask whether the notice describes the breach the way the law requires.
- Read how to stop foreclosure in Nebraska for every option and its cutoff.
Help and scam warnings
Legal Aid of Nebraska says there is no charge for foreclosure counseling, and lists what to gather first: recent pay stubs, account statements, mortgage statements, the balances and minimum payments on your debts, and a letter explaining what changed.
- Recording a notice of default makes your situation public. Expect offers from people promising to save your home.
- Under the Nebraska Foreclosure Protection Act, a foreclosure consultant cannot take any payment until every promised service is done, and you can cancel its contract at any time (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-2714, 76-2716, as listed in the state file).
- More places to call are on the Nebraska foreclosure help page.
The rest of the Nebraska process
See how foreclosure works in Nebraska, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Nebraska, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How long do I have to cure a Nebraska notice of default?
1 month from the day the notice of default was filed for record, or 2 months if the home is farm property outside a city or village that the trustor uses in farming (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1012(1)). Count from the recording date shown on the copy mailed to you.
Do I have to pay the whole loan to stop a Nebraska trustee's sale?
Not during the cure window. You pay the amount then due without the part of the principal that would not be due if you had not defaulted, plus actual costs and trustee's fees capped at $50 or one half of one percent of the unpaid principal, whichever is greater (§ 76-1012(1)).
I never got the mailed copy of my Nebraska notice of default. Is that allowed?
The law says a copy must be mailed by registered or certified mail within 10 days after recording to each party to the trust deed at the address in it (§ 76-1008(2), (3)). If you moved or never got it, show your papers to Legal Aid of Nebraska or a lawyer right away.
What happens after the Nebraska cure month ends?
The trustee can then publish a notice of trustee's sale. The sale can be a little over 2 months after the notice of default at the earliest, because the sale notice runs 5 weeks with the last one at least 10 days before the sale (§§ 76-1006, 76-1007).
Other Nebraska letters
- Notice of Trustee's SaleThe Notice of Trustee's Sale gives the date, time and place of the public auction of your home. It is published once a week for 5 weeks and mailed to you at least 20 days before the sale. In Nebraska your rights in the home end when the trustee accepts the highest bid, so the time to act is before the sale.
- Summons and Complaint (foreclosure)If you signed a mortgage, or your lender chose court over a trustee's sale, the foreclosure starts with a summons and complaint filed in the district court of the county where the home is. You have 30 days after service to serve an answer. Before the court enters a decree, paying the past-due principal, interest and costs into court requires the case to be dismissed.
- Decree of ForeclosureThe decree is the district court's order that you owe a set amount and that the home be sold by the sheriff. From the day it is entered, you have 20 days to file a written request to stay the order of sale. The stay is 9 months, or 3 or 6 months for many home loans, but filing it gives up your right to appeal the decree.
- Motion to confirm sheriff's sale and notice of hearingAfter a sheriff's sale in a Nebraska court foreclosure, the lender asks the judge to confirm it. Until the judge confirms the sale, you can still redeem the home by paying the decree, interest and costs into court. The hearing is also your chance to object if the sale was not done properly or the price was far below the home's value.
- Notice to leave the premises (before a forcible entry and detainer case)If you are still in the home after a Nebraska foreclosure sale, the new owner must serve you a written notice to leave at least 3 days before filing a forcible entry and detainer case. The court summons then sets a trial 10 to 14 days after it is issued. Only a court order can remove you.