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South Dakota · What this letter means

South Dakota foreclosure letters and notices

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

  1. Step 1

    Twenty-day notice that the whole debt is due (One Hundred Eighty Day Redemption mortgage)

    If your mortgage is titled "MORTGAGE--ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAY REDEMPTION," it can let the lender call the whole debt due after a default on 20 days' notice by registered or certified mail. The notice may come with a notice of your right to cure. It is not a lawsuit and not a sale notice, but foreclosure can follow once the 20 days pass.

    What it means
  2. Step 2

    Summons and Complaint (foreclosure by action)

    A summons and complaint means your lender has sued to foreclose in circuit court, called foreclosure by action. You have 30 days after you are served to serve a written answer. In this kind of case, paying the past-due principal and interest plus costs into court before judgment requires the case to be dismissed.

    What it means
  3. Step 3

    Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale (foreclosure by advertisement)

    In a foreclosure by advertisement, there is no lawsuit. The lender publishes a notice of sale for four weeks in a row and must serve you a written copy at least 21 days before the sheriff's sale. The notice must tell you that you can apply to have the foreclosure done in court instead, and you do not have to give a reason.

    What it means
  4. Step 4

    Sheriff's Certificate of Sale

    At a South Dakota foreclosure sale, the sheriff gives the buyer a certificate of sale and records it with the register of deeds. It is not a deed. You keep living in the home and can redeem for one year from the sale, or 180 days from recording for a 180-day redemption mortgage.

    What it means
  5. Step 5

    Sheriff's notice of deposit of surplus with the clerk of courts

    When a foreclosure sale by advertisement brings in more than the costs and the debt, the sheriff pays the extra to the clerk of the circuit court and must mail notice of the deposit to you and to junior lienholders. The court decides who gets it. You can ask for it yourself without paying a finder.

    What it means
  6. Step 6

    Summons and complaint for forcible entry and detainer (eviction) after a sheriff's deed

    Once the redemption period ends without a redemption and the sheriff gives the buyer a deed, the buyer can file a forcible entry and detainer case if you are still in the home. The summons gives you only 5 days from service to appear and respond. Only a court judgment can order you out.

    What it means

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