Foreclosure research in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois foreclosure is a court case, and in Chicago it runs through the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Illinois builds in waiting periods many homeowners never hear about. The Homeowner Research Document gives you every filing on your property, connected, dated and counted, with the data from homes like yours and alerts when anything changes.
Questions? Call 516-499-1731.
This page is written for Illinois
A court case in Cook County
In Illinois a lender must file a lawsuit and get a judgment from a judge. In Chicago the case goes to the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division.
The Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law sets the rules. One feature stands out: a sale is not final until the court confirms it, in a separate order on a separate court date.
Each stage, from notice to confirmation
The stages of an Illinois residential foreclosure, in order.
The grace period notice
Illinois generally requires a notice before a residential foreclosure is filed, describing the default and pointing to approved housing counseling.
The complaint and summons
The case begins. Illinois summonses commonly give 30 days from service to appear and respond.
Reinstatement and redemption
Reinstating means paying what is past due, plus costs, to bring the loan current: Illinois commonly allows 90 days from service. Redeeming means paying in full, commonly the later of seven months from service or three months from judgment.
Judgment, sale, and confirmation
The court enters a judgment of foreclosure and sale. The sale is held after the redemption period ends, with notice published first. The court must then confirm it: not a formality, since objections are raised there. An order for possession usually follows, with a stay before it can be enforced.
How long this usually takes
Cook County cases commonly run well over a year from filing to confirmation. Several Illinois periods count from the day you were served. Go by the dates on your own papers.
Cook County foreclosure mediation
Cook County runs a mortgage foreclosure mediation program for eligible homeowners, with free housing counseling and free legal assistance attached. Eligibility depends on timing and the type of property, so ask as soon as you are served.
Your Homeowner Research Document puts your dates and papers in front of you when you ask.
Free help: the Illinois Attorney General's Homeowner Helpline, 866-544-7151.
Where homeowner rights are written down
Homeowners have rights in a foreclosure. Most are written down in public law, and hardly anyone is shown where.
We use public research data to illustrate the rights homeowners have. The sources are open to everyone: the statutes, the court rules, published court decisions, county land records and court dockets.
In general terms, those sources say:
- Where a foreclosure goes through a court, a homeowner has a set number of days to respond after being served, and the clock starts on a date that is written down.
- In a court foreclosure, a judge decides the outcome, and the case moves on a schedule the court sets.
- State law generally sets a point in the process up to which a homeowner may bring the loan current.
- A homeowner may contact their lender or servicer directly, at any time, and needs no one's permission to do it.
We hand you your record and the published sources behind it, so you and your attorney can read them together.
Research built around your Chicago home
Homeowner Research Document
Research and data built around your property. Every filing on it, how those filings connect, the numbers behind them, and alerts when anything new is recorded.
If you are facing foreclosure, it includes a full report on your Illinois foreclosure file:
- Every paper in your case, dated and sourced.
- How the papers connect, from the original loan through every transfer and assignment.
- A timeline of every filing and every deadline, keyed to the day you were served.
- The numbers, including how cases like yours have moved through the Circuit Court of Cook County.
- The papers your record refers to that are not in your file.
It is organized so your attorney can work from it at your first meeting.
The price is quoted for your document, based on the research it needs.
Working with us from Chicago
Our office is in Valley Stream, New York.
We have no office in Illinois. We work with Chicago homeowners by phone, email and mail, on Eastern time: Chicago is an hour behind us.
70 Sunrise Highway, Suite 500
Valley Stream, NY 11581
Phone: 516-499-1731
Email: customerservice@
When your situation calls for a licensed Illinois attorney, we coordinate the referral, with your Homeowner Research Document ready for the first meeting. You would be their client, not ours.
Talk to a person.
Call 516-499-1731, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Saturday appointments are available on request. If we are with another client, leave a message with your name, your phone number, and the county your property is in, and we will call you back.
Prime Real Estate Consultants
70 Sunrise Highway, Suite 500, Valley Stream, NY 11581
customerservice@
| Monday to Friday | 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Saturday | By appointment only |
| Sunday | Closed |
Free help is also available.
You do not have to pay anyone for help with a foreclosure. HUD-approved housing counseling agencies give free counseling nationwide. Call 1-800-569-4287 or visit hud.gov. Many states and counties also run free foreclosure prevention programs. We want you to know about them, whether or not you ever hire us.
If you have a sale date or a court date coming up, call a licensed attorney today.
We are not a law firm.
Prime Real Estate Consultants is a property research and consulting business. We do not practice law or represent anyone, and nothing on this site is legal, tax or financial advice. Contacting us or buying a service does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Your rights under Illinois law
Illinois regulates this work under the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, 765 ILCS 940. Under that law, a distressed property consultant must give you a written contract that spells out the exact nature of the services and the total amount and terms of what you will pay. You must be given a copy of that contract and a cancellation notice as soon as it is signed.
You have the right to cancel your contract at any time until every service in it has been fully performed. Any attempt to make you give up that right is void and against Illinois public policy.