You are in foreclosure. You probably have more time than you were told.

What the Illinois timeline actually looks like

A lender generally has to send a grace period notice and then file a complaint in the Circuit Court. You are served, you have a window to file an appearance and answer, and only then can the lender move for judgment. After a judgment of foreclosure there is a statutory reinstatement and redemption structure, and then a judicial sale, and then a motion to confirm that sale. Cook County's foreclosure calendar is one of the busiest in the country, and cases routinely run twelve to twenty four months from filing to sale.

What that means in practice: if you were served last month, you almost certainly still have room to sell on your own terms and keep whatever equity is left instead of letting it get consumed by fees. If your sale date is already set and confirmed, the window is much narrower, and that is a phone call, not a form.

None of this is legal advice and every case is different. If you have been served, talk to a foreclosure defense attorney. There are free and low cost options in Cook County, and we will point you to them whether or not you sell to us.

Selling before the sale date, step by step

We get the case number and the payoff, order title, and find out exactly what has to be satisfied: the first mortgage, any second, attorney fees and costs added by the servicer, and any judgment liens or tax sale certificates that attached along the way. Then we tell you the truth about the math.

If there is equity, the goal is to close before the judicial sale so the equity comes to you instead of evaporating. If the payoff is higher than the house is worth, the path is usually a short sale, which needs the lender's approval and takes longer. We can buy in a short sale, and we can also tell you when a deed in lieu or a defense of the case is the better play.

Behind on taxes as well as the mortgage

Foreclosure and tax delinquency often show up together, and the tax side moves on its own clock. If your PIN has been through the Cook County annual tax sale, a tax buyer holds a certificate and there is a redemption deadline that has nothing to do with your foreclosure case. Miss it and the tax buyer can petition for a deed. We read the certificate, price around the redemption, and work to the earlier of the two deadlines.

More on Cook County tax delinquency