Illinois Foreclosure Law

Illinois foreclosure law applies to mortgage contracts in default, but not on deeds of trust. All foreclosures are judicial, meaning lenders have to take the case to court before they can foreclose. The state also has one of the longest foreclosure wait times in the country, averaging 210 days (approximately seven months).

Judicial foreclosure in Iowa follows one of three processes:

Standard judicial foreclosure
In this method, the lender first gives the borrower a notice of intent to foreclose. The notice is also sent to any other parties entitled to the information, as required by local statutes. All notices must be sent at least 30 days before the court judgment date.

If the court approves the foreclosure, they will issue a notice of sale indicating the time, date, and terms of the foreclosure. The sale must be conducted by the sheriff, or a judge active in the county where the home is located.

The lender may file a deficiency suit after the foreclosure. The suit is a personal claim against the borrower and is made when the foreclosure sale is not sufficient to pay off the balance.

Deed in lieu of foreclosure
A deed in lieu of foreclosure is simply a transfer of the deed for the property from the borrower to the lender. This usually results from an agreement between the two parties to skip the foreclosure process. The borrower usually has to negotiate directly with the lender in order to use this method.

Consent foreclosure
A consent foreclosure involves a judgment by the court wherein the absolute title is transferred to the lender, instead of being sold in a public auction. Unlike a deed in lieu, the transfer is mediated by the court rather than carried out from the borrower to the lender.

Right of redemption
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