Behind on your mortgage in Rapid City? What to do first, and which offers to walk away from

Updated October 10, 2026.

The short answer

You have more time than it feels like. A South Dakota foreclosure by advertisement requires four weeks of published notice before any sale (SDCL 21-48-6), and the default redemption period after the sale is one year (SDCL 21-52-11). Use that time in this order: read every letter from your lender, call your lender, then call a housing counselor. Sell only if the numbers say keeping the house won't work, and never pay anyone upfront to "save" it.

Want a cash offer? You'll have it in 24 to 48 hours.

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What should you do in the first week?

Open every letter from your lender and keep them together. The dates in them tell you where you are on the timeline.
Find your mortgage and look at the first page. If it’s titled “MORTGAGE–ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAY REDEMPTION,” your redemption period after a sale is 180 days, not a year (SDCL 21-49-12). What that means.
Call your lender. Ask what it would take to catch up, and whether a repayment plan or modification is possible. Write down who you talked to and when.
Call a housing counselor. Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills in Rapid City (605-348-4550 ext. 144) and NeighborWorks Dakota Home Resources in Deadwood (605-578-1401) both offer mortgage default counseling. The CFPB’s housing counselor finder lists other HUD-approved agencies by ZIP code.

Which offers should you walk away from?

The Federal Trade Commission lists these as warning signs of mortgage relief scams:

Asking for money upfront, before doing anything.
Wanting payment only by cashier’s check, wire transfer or a payment app.
Asking you to sign the deed over to them.
Telling you to stop talking to your lender, lawyer or housing counselor.
Telling you to make your mortgage payments to them instead of your lender.
“Give us the deed and you can rent it back until you’re on your feet.”

A legitimate buyer pays you at closing, at a title company, and the mortgage is paid off the same day. Nothing changes hands before that.

What are your options?

Catch up (reinstate). Pay what’s past due plus fees. Best if the missed payments came from a one-time hit.
Modify the loan or set up a repayment plan. Your lender decides; a counselor can help you ask.
List the house with an agent. Works if the house shows well and the sale can close before the sheriff’s sale.
Sell it for cash. Works if time is short or the house needs work. You keep whatever is left after the mortgage is paid.
Short sale or deed in lieu. For when you owe more than it’s worth, and only with the lender’s agreement.

Compare what listing and a cash sale would net.

How it works with us

You call or send the address. We ask where you are: what letters you’ve gotten, and whether there’s a sale date.
You get your payoff from your lender. We figure out whether selling leaves you money after the mortgage.
If it does, you get a written offer in 24 to 48 hours, with a closing date before any sheriff’s sale. We pay all the closing costs. A signed contract can also help you ask your lender to postpone the sale.
If it doesn’t, we tell you so and point you back to your lender and, if needed, an attorney.

Questions people ask

How many missed payments before foreclosure starts in South Dakota?

South Dakota law requires a default under the mortgage before a foreclosure by advertisement can begin (SDCL 21-48-3), but it doesn't set a number of missed payments. Federal rules do: a mortgage servicer generally can't make the first notice or filing for foreclosure until you're more than 120 days behind (12 CFR 1024.41(f)). Your lender's letters will tell you where you stand.

Will selling stop the foreclosure?

A sale that closes before the sheriff's sale pays off the mortgage from the proceeds, which ends the foreclosure. Whether that works for you depends on whether the house is worth more than you owe plus the costs of selling. If it isn't, ask your lender about a short sale or a deed in lieu.

What if I owe more than the house is worth?

Then selling to a cash buyer won't fix it, and neither will most listings. That's the situation where your lender's options matter most: a loan modification, a short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure. A HUD-approved counselor like Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills (605-348-4550 ext. 144) can help you ask for them.

Can signing a contract to sell push back my foreclosure date?

Often, yes. When there's a signed purchase contract and a closing date, lenders will often agree to postpone the sheriff's sale, because the sale pays them off. South Dakota law allows a foreclosure sale to be postponed by published notice (SDCL 21-48-11). It's your lender's decision, not automatic. So if your sale date is coming up, call us right away. We can get a contract signed fast and you can send it to your lender with a request to postpone.