- Who sends it
- The holder of your mortgage or its servicer, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to your last known address
- What it starts
- 20 days before the lender can declare the whole debt due and move to foreclose under its mortgage terms
- Do this first
- Write down the mailing date, find any cure amount in the letter, and call your servicer and a free HUD-approved counselor this week
What this notice is in South Dakota
South Dakota has a special kind of mortgage for property of 40 acres or less. It must be titled in capital letters "MORTGAGE--ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAY REDEMPTION" and say that the One Hundred Eighty Day Redemption Mortgage Act governs it (SDCL 21-49-12). Check the top of the mortgage you signed at closing, or get a copy from the county register of deeds.
SDCL 21-49-13(1) lets this kind of mortgage say that after a missed payment, unpaid taxes or insurance, or another broken promise in the mortgage, the holder can make the whole debt, principal and interest, due right away "upon twenty days' notice to the mortgagor." The law says this notice "may be given concurrently with any notice of the mortgagor's right to cure existing defaults." So your letter may combine both.
Federal rules generally keep a servicer from starting a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind, so this letter often arrives before any court case or sale notice. If your mortgage is a standard one, it may have its own notice terms; read the default section of your mortgage.
What it does and does not mean
- It is not a lawsuit. A court foreclosure starts with a summons and complaint.
- It is not a sale notice. A sale by advertisement needs a published and served notice of mortgage foreclosure sale.
- It is a warning that after 20 days the lender can treat the whole loan as due, not just the missed payments.
- It does not shorten your right to live in the home after a sale. A 180-day redemption mortgage cannot take away your right to possession during the redemption period (SDCL 21-49-12).
- If it includes a right to cure, the letter itself sets out the amount and the date. That right comes from your mortgage, so read it closely.
The deadline it starts and how to count it
- The law says the notice is given when it is deposited in the U.S. mail, registered or certified, return receipt requested, to your last known address (SDCL 21-49-13). The clock does not wait for you to sign for it.
- Count 20 calendar days from the mailing date. South Dakota's general counting rule skips the day of the event and counts the last day, moving to the next business day if the last day is a weekend or legal holiday (SDCL 15-6-6(a)). To be safe, act well before the 20th day.
- If the mortgage lets the lender call the loan due because you sold the home without consent, the notice period for that is 60 days (SDCL 21-49-13(7)).
- After the 20 days, the mortgage "may be foreclosed" under chapter 21-49. Land of 40 acres or less on this kind of mortgage can be foreclosed in court, by advertisement, or under chapter 21-49 (SDCL 21-49-11).
See how long foreclosure takes in South Dakota for the whole timeline.
What to do this week
- Find the postmark or mailing date and mark day 20 on your calendar.
- Call the servicer at the number on the letter. Ask in writing for the exact amount to bring the loan current and the date it is good through.
- Ask about a repayment plan, forbearance or modification, and send a complete application. A complete application gives you federal protections that grow as the sale gets closer.
- Call a HUD-approved counselor in South Dakota Housing's HERO network, such as NeighborWorks Dakota Home Resources at 605-578-1401, for free help with the application.
- Read how to stop foreclosure in South Dakota for each option and its cutoff.
Free help and scam warnings
For free legal advice, apply through SD Law Help, the shared site of South Dakota's legal aid programs. With an urgent deadline, call East River Legal Services at 1-800-952-3015 in eastern counties or Dakota Plains Legal Services at 605-856-4444. More contacts are on the South Dakota foreclosure help page.
- South Dakota has no law written just for foreclosure rescue companies. Federal rules generally bar a company from charging you before you sign a deal with your lender that it got for you (12 C.F.R. § 1015.5(a)).
- Never sign over your deed to someone who promises to save the home. Report offers like that to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection division.
The rest of the South Dakota process
See how foreclosure works in South Dakota, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in South Dakota, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How do I know if I have a South Dakota 180-day redemption mortgage?
Look at the title of your mortgage. SDCL 21-49-12 requires it to be titled in printed or typed capital letters "MORTGAGE--ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAY REDEMPTION" and to say that the One Hundred Eighty Day Redemption Mortgage Act governs it. If the title is different, the standard one-year redemption rule likely applies instead.
Does the 20 days start when I sign for the certified letter?
No. SDCL 21-49-13 says the notice requirement is met when the letter is deposited in the U.S. mail by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to your last known address. Count from the mailing date and keep the envelope.
Can I still catch up after the 20 days?
Maybe. If the lender sues, SDCL 21-47-8 says a court foreclosure complaint must be dismissed if you pay into court the principal and interest due plus costs before judgment, on a loan with later installments still to come. Whether that applies after the whole debt has been called due was not confirmed, so ask a lawyer and ask the servicer for a written reinstatement figure.
Other South Dakota letters
- 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.
- 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.
- Sheriff's Certificate of SaleAt 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.
- Sheriff's notice of deposit of surplus with the clerk of courtsWhen 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.
- Summons and complaint for forcible entry and detainer (eviction) after a sheriff's deedOnce 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.
Sources
- SDCL 21-49-13 (20-day notice; notice with right to cure; mailing rule)
- SDCL 21-49-12 (title of a 180-day redemption mortgage; possession during redemption)
- SDCL 21-49-11 (foreclosure options for tracts of 40 acres or less)
- SDCL 15-6-6(a) (computation of time)
- SDCL 21-47-8 (dismissal on payment into court before judgment)
- South Dakota Housing: HERO network of HUD-approved counseling agencies
- SD Law Help