§ 28-01-42 — Cancellation or enforcement of contract for sale of real estate - Limitation - When time begins to run - Commencement of proceedings

When time begins to run - Commencement of proceedings.
No action or proceeding may be maintained by a person out of possession to cancel or
enforce any contract for the sale or conveyance of real estate, after twenty years from the date
of said contract, as shown by the record of such instrument, or after twenty years from the date
of recording of any instrument which describes or refers to such contract, which itself is not of
record, unless the record of such contract or other instrument shows that less than ten years
have elapsed since the due date of the last payment on the indebtedness or part thereof,
secured thereby, or since the claim for relief has accrued thereon, or unless the record shows
an extension of the maturity of the instrument or of the debt or a part thereof, and that ten years
from the expiration of the time of such extension has not yet expired. The limitation of this
section may not be extended by the nonresidence of any plaintiff or defendant or of any vendor
or vendee, nor by reason of any payment made after the due date of the last payment on the
indebtedness or part thereof, nor by reason of any disability of any party interested in the
contract.