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North Dakota · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in North Dakota

Your strongest chance to stop a North Dakota foreclosure comes early: paying what the notice before foreclosure asks for within 30 days reinstates your loan by law. After that, you can answer the lawsuit and raise defenses, work out a deal with your servicer, or, as a last resort, file bankruptcy. Even after the sale, you have 60 days to redeem the home.

Ask for help in North Dakota Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against North Dakota law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in North Dakota

  • Apply for help from your servicer

    As early as possible; ideally before the 120-day mark

    Ask for a repayment plan, forbearance or loan modification and send a complete application. A HUD-approved counselor from the NDHFA list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies can help for free. If your loan is with the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, call its servicing team at 701-328-8080.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41

  • Cure the default after the notice

    Within 30 days after the notice before foreclosure is served

    Pay the amount needed to fix the default, as listed in the notice. The law says the mortgage is then reinstated as if no default had happened, and the lender cannot go forward with the foreclosure on that default.

    N.D.C.C. §§ 32-19-21, 32-19-28

  • Check the notice before foreclosure

    Before you answer the complaint

    The notice must be served 30 to 90 days before the suit, contain the required amounts, and be proved by an affidavit or return filed with the complaint. A missing or late notice may be a defense, so bring it to a lawyer.

    N.D.C.C. §§ 32-19-20, 32-19-21, 32-19-27

  • Answer the summons and complaint

    Within 21 days after you are served

    Serve a written answer on the lender's lawyer stating any defenses, such as wrong amounts or a defective notice. The North Dakota Legal Self Help Center explains how. If the lender has not filed the case, a demand for filing forces it to file within 20 days.

    N.D.R.Civ.P. 5(d), 12(a)

  • Ask a judge to stop an out-of-court foreclosure

    During the notice period, or later by motion

    This applies only if the state or a state agency holds your mortgage and is foreclosing by advertisement. If you swear by affidavit to a valid defense or counterclaim, a judge can stop the advertisement sale and move the case into court.

    N.D.C.C. § 35-22-04

  • Talk to a bankruptcy attorney

    Before the sheriff's sale

    Filing bankruptcy creates an automatic stay that pauses the foreclosure, and Chapter 13 can let you catch up over time. It has costs and rules, so get advice from a licensed bankruptcy attorney or Legal Services of North Dakota first.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

  • Redeem after the sale

    Within 60 days after the sheriff's sale

    Pay the amount bid plus interest at your mortgage rate to the certificate holder or the sheriff. This undoes the sale and returns the home to you, so a refinance or family loan lined up during the case can still save the home.

    N.D.C.C. §§ 32-19-18, 32-19-18.1, 28-24-06

What North Dakota law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Limited right

Yes, for 30 days. If you pay what is needed to fix the default within 30 days after you are served with the notice before foreclosure, the law says the mortgage must be reinstated as though no default had happened. After that window the statutes read for this page give no general right to reinstate, so catching up later depends on your servicer agreeing to it.

N.D.C.C. §§ 32-19-21, 32-19-28

Foreclosure mediation

No statewide program

No statewide foreclosure mediation or settlement conference program for homes was found on the North Dakota courts' self-help site or the state housing agency's site, and the foreclosure statutes read for this page do not create one. You can still ask your servicer for a workout and get free help from a HUD-approved housing counselor; the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency publishes a list.

Notice before foreclosure with a 30 day right to cure

The lender must serve a written notice 30 to 90 days before suing, stating the amount needed to bring you current. Paying within 30 days reinstates the mortgage. Proof that the notice was served must be filed with the complaint.

N.D.C.C. §§ 32-19-20, 32-19-21, 32-19-27, 32-19-28

No deficiency judgment on an owner-occupied home

For residential property of four or fewer units on up to 40 acres with a home the owner occupies as a homestead, the lender cannot get a judgment for any shortfall after the sale.

N.D.C.C. § 32-19-03

You keep the home during redemption

From the sale until the redemption period ends, you are entitled to possession, use and rents of the home, unless the court finds it abandoned.

N.D.C.C. §§ 28-24-11, 32-19-06

Out-of-court foreclosure only for state-held mortgages

Only a mortgage held by the state or a state agency with a power of sale can be foreclosed by advertisement instead of a lawsuit. Even then, a judge can stop it and send it to court if you show by sworn affidavit that you have a valid defense or counterclaim.

N.D.C.C. §§ 35-22-01, 35-22-04

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in North Dakota

Does catching up within 30 days really stop a North Dakota foreclosure?

Yes, for that default. N.D.C.C. § 32-19-28 says that if the owner fixes the default within 30 days of service of the notice before foreclosure, the mortgage must be reinstated and stays in force as though no default had happened. Pay the amount shown in the notice and keep proof of payment.

Is foreclosure mediation available in North Dakota?

No statewide foreclosure mediation program for homes was found on the North Dakota courts' or housing agency's websites, and the foreclosure chapter does not require one. You can still negotiate directly with your servicer, and a HUD-approved counselor can help you prepare. Nothing requires the lender to agree.

Can the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency foreclose without going to court?

The law allows it. N.D.C.C. § 35-22-01 lets a mortgage held by the state or a state agency, with a power of sale, be foreclosed by advertisement. The same 30 day notice and right to cure apply under § 35-22-03, and § 35-22-04 lets a judge move the case into court if you show a valid defense.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in North Dakota

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

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Sources for this page

  1. N.D. Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 5 (demand for filing, 5(d)(2)(A)(iii))
  2. North Dakota Legal Self Help Center: Demand for Filing info guide (Rev Jul 2025)
  3. North Dakota Courts: Court Locations
  4. N.D. Century Code chapter 32-19: Foreclosure of real estate mortgages by action
  5. N.D. Century Code chapter 28-23: Sales under execution
  6. N.D. Century Code chapter 28-24: Redemption of real estate
  7. N.D. Century Code chapter 35-22: Foreclosure of mortgages of real property by advertisement
  8. N.D. Century Code chapter 47-32: Eviction
  9. N.D. Century Code chapter 51-15: Consumer fraud and unlawful credit practices
  10. N.D. Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 12
  11. North Dakota Legal Self Help Center: Answering a Summons and Complaint
  12. North Dakota Legal Self Help Center: Finding a Lawyer
  13. North Dakota Legal Self Help Center home page
  14. NDHFA: What is the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF)?
  15. NDHFA: For Loan Customers
  16. NDHFA: HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies (Rev 5/25)
  17. ND Health and Human Services news release, May 8, 2026: Nearly $6M remains available in pandemic-era Homeowner Assistance Fund
  18. U.S. Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  19. North Dakota Attorney General: Consumer Resources
  20. North Dakota Attorney General: Consumer Complaints
  21. North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions: File a Complaint
  22. Legal Services of North Dakota
  23. Dakota Plains Legal Services
  24. ND Office of State Tax Commissioner: Primary Residence Credit
  25. ND Office of State Tax Commissioner: Homestead Property Tax Credit and Renters Refund