The Illinois Foreclosure Timeline
The laws of most states
prohibit the defining of laws and professional processes by anyone other than a licensed
professional in that field.
This Definition of
'Foreclosure TimeLine' report is
a collaboration of authors who are Real Estate Brokers, Commercial Mortgage Brokers, licensed
Residential Mortgage Brokers and excerpts from Illinois Free Legal Service Websites, along with
the authors personal experience.
Your understanding of the Illinois foreclosure
process
and your rights
will yield the best results
and solutions for your situation.
REMEMBER...
EDUCATION =
KNOWLEDGE
and
KNOWLEDGE = POWER TO DO...
One of the biggest
mistakes
that homeowners in
foreclosure often make,
is becoming paralyzed with
fear and denial.
They keep hoping somehow this
situation will fix itself,
but with each passing
day,
the situation gets worse.
We do not subscribe to pressuring you
however the facts
are;
understand that
TIME IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE
Time is Flying
By
Please study and
understand
the following Illinois
foreclosure timeline
as defined by Illinois Legal
Aid
A mortgage is a written agreement
between a lender and a
home buyer.
See What is a mortgage.
The mortgage makes your home
collateral for your home loan. Collateral is security for a loan,
so if you do not pay the
lender,
they can try to take your
home.
This process is called a
mortgage foreclosure.
See What is Foreclosure
In an unopposed mortgage foreclosure,
the borrower
decides
that there is no reason to
try to stop the foreclosure.
So, the borrower takes no
action
or agrees to go forward as
quickly as possible
and not fight the
foreclosure.
If you are going to try to stop
the foreclosure,
you would oppose the mortgage
foreclosure
by taking some form of
action
to stop and/or remedy the
foreclosure.
If you are going to try to
stop the foreclosure,
your process and time
line
will be different
from
the following
unopposed example.
The following example
foreclosure timeline
will give you an idea of how
long the foreclosure process
will take and when you’ll
have to actually move out.
Remember that this timeline
is generic
for an unopposed
process,
and your actual foreclosure
timeline
will vary with your actions
or inactions.
On The Third Missed Payment
Usually, after the third missed mortgage payment
,
the
loan is sent to the lender's attorney for foreclosure.
A
foreclosure action
is a
lawsuit filed to end your mortgage
and
take away your home.
After the lender's attorney
gets
the information about your loan,
he
or she orders a title report.
A
title report is a document that states who owns,
or
has title to the property.
This
report also shows if you have any unpaid deeds of trust, mortgages or liens on the
property.
Further,
the
title report shows if you have any other limits
on
how your property can be used
such
as liens
(the
right to force the sale of your property to
pay a debt)
or
covenants
(an
agreement about the use of your property).
30 Days Later
The lender's attorney reviews the title
report
and writes the foreclosure
complaint
(a court document that says
you have not paid your mortgage for a certain amount of time and the property is now being
offered for foreclosure).
The attorney also writes up
other papers
such as;
-
a
summons: (a court order that you appear in court at a
certain day and time),
-
a Complaint to Foreclose
Mortgage, and
-
a Plaintiff's Request
For Relief.
The lender’s attorney reviews
the title report
to find if you have any other
mortgages on your property
or if a mechanic's lien has
been filed.
A mechanic's lien is a claim
against your property
usually filed by a
workman
because you did not pay him
for work done on your home.
7 Days Later
The foreclosure complaint is
filed in court
and the summons is ready for
service.
Service is when legal papers
are given to the opposite party.
A 'lis
pendens' is recorded with the Recorder of Deeds.
A lis pendens is a document
that is filed with the recorder of deeds which stops you from selling your home until the
foreclosure case is over.
Within 60 Days
The foreclosure complaint is
served,
or given,
to all parties by the
Sheriff
or a special process
server.
If a party cannot be reached
in person,
they can be served
by putting a notice in the
newspaper,
called service by
publication.
In other words,
if you cannot be
served,
or you refuse to accept
service,
the service is
allowed,
with court
permission,
to be accomplished
by posting the
service
in a local public newspaper
for three weeks.
See
the Summons
also
see answering the Summons
14 Days Later
The lender's attorney reviews
the court file
to make sure that all parties
have been served.
Then the attorney sends a
notice of motion
(asking for a Foreclosure
Judgment to be entered).
The notice of motion will
tell you when the court date is.
You should go to
court on that date.
You have 90 days after receiving the notice of motion
to reinstate your
mortgage.
You reinstate your mortgage
by paying all the money you owe
on the mortgage and all costs
and fees.
If you do
this,
you cannot reinstate
your mortgage again for 5
years.
At court , any of these
things can happen:
-
You can ask for a continuance to
hire a lawyer.
A continuance means that you're asking the court not to make a
decision today, and to set a new court date to give you more time;
-
You can ask for more time to file
an appearance and answer.
An appearance and answer are the forms you will need to file if
you're going to represent yourself instead of getting a lawyer, and you think you have
a defense to the foreclosure case;
See Answering the summons
-
The court could set your case for
trial if you have some defense available to you;
-
If you have no defense to the
foreclosure then the court may enter a Judgment of Foreclosure against you.
But it is not likely that this will happen at the first
court date.
21 to 60 Days Later
If you lose at
trial
or you do not reach an
agreement
with the mortgage
company
then a Judgment of
Foreclosure and sale
(saying that you no longer
own the property
or have any interest in the
property)
will be entered against you
in court.
Once a Judgment of Foreclosure is entered,
your redemption
period
(when you can try to keep your house
by paying off the overdue
money
within a certain amount of
time) begins.
Your Redemption Period Ends:
7 months after the date of
service
of the foreclosure complaint
if you are living in the home
or
6 months after the date of
service
if you are not living in the
home,
or
3 months after the Judgment
of Foreclosure is entered, whichever is later.
In order to redeem your
mortgage,
you must pay the amount of
the judgment of foreclosure,
which includes all money owed
under the mortgage,
all court costs, attorney
fees and taxes,
within 7 Days after the redemption Period Ends.
The Foreclosure Sale
The foreclosure sale (of your
home) takes place.
The mortgage company must do
certain things before the foreclosure sale can take place.
A notice of sale must be published
at least 3 weeks in a
row,
once per week.
The notice must be published
in a newspaper
of general
circulation,
in the real estate
section.
It will usually be posted in
a local paper.
The notice may be published
during the redemption period.
The mortgage company does
not
have to mail you a notice of
the sale.
21 to 30 Days Later
The mortgage company will
bring a motion in court
to ask for confirmation of
the foreclosure sale.
A court will usually confirm
a foreclosure sale
unless you can prove one of
the following:
-
Notice was not given in the right
way
-
The terms of sale were
unreasonable
-
The sale was conducted fraudulently
(in a dishonest way)
-
Justice was not done
You can go to the sale if you
want to.
If the sale price is less
than the amount of money that you needed to redeem the property
and the mortgage company
purchased your property,
you have a special right to redeem.
This special right to redeem ends
30 days after the sale is
confirmed.
In order to
redeem,
you must pay the sale
price,
any additional costs and
expenses
approved by the court and any
interest.
When the court confirms the sale
they will give possession of
the property to the buyer.
This could be the mortgage
company or a third-party buyer.
The court will usually give you 30 days
from the date the order is
entered to leave the property.
30 Days Later
You no longer have the right
to stay in your house
and the mortgage company can
ask the court
to have the sheriff remove
you from the property
if you do not do so by
yourself,
this would result in an
'eviction'.
Sheriff's eviction
After You Leave The Property
The foreclosure
deed,
which is a written
document
that says your property has
been foreclosed,
is recorded so that it is
public record.
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