South Dakota · ForeclosureSouth Dakota deficiency judgments: fair value at a judicial sale and market value after advertisement

South Dakota limits deficiencies by tying them to the property's value. In a judicial foreclosure, if the mortgage holder isn't willing to bid the full judgment debt at the sale, it must prove at trial the fair and reasonable value of the property, which the court determines in its decree; if that value, less prior liens including taxes and special assessments, is less than the debt with costs, the court may authorize the holder to bid not less than that fair value less the prior liens, and any deficiency remaining after the sale can be collected by general execution only on application to the court that rendered the judgment (SDCL 21-47-16). After a sale by a mortgagee or trustee outside court where the lender or holder of the debt buys the property, the holder must first prove to the court hearing its deficiency action that the property sold for its true market value or more; the court deducts from the unpaid debt any difference between the true market value and a lower sale price (SDCL 21-48-14). That second rule doesn't apply to court-ordered sales or deficiencies sought in a foreclosure by action.