What Exactly Is A Foreclosure In Illinois?

A foreclosure is a judicial process that plays out in the courtroom, through which a lender forecloses on their mortgage loan and takes the property away from the homeowner by force. It’s an adversarial proceeding, so defendants have the right to defend themselves, rather than just going along with the process.

How Long Do I Have to Respond After Being Served With a Foreclosure Summons? Are There Any Exceptions in Illinois?
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Generally, you have 30 days to respond, assuming the lender correctly serves you with the summons and complaint. There is only one scenario where you can have more than 30 days by law to appear or respond to a properly served summons and complaint, and that is if you voluntarily accept service of the summons and the complaint; in that case, you get 60 days to appear or file a response in the foreclosure case.

Receiving a summons is a very technical thing, so there is a scenario where service of process could be considered defective. If the summon and complaint are not served properly, it’s void and anything that happens in the case would also be void. In that situation, we would file something called a motion to quash service of process, which if granted would set aside everything that happened in the case and start the case from the beginning.

Is It Possible to Delay a Foreclosure From Going Forward?

The short answer is yes. Lawyers can use many procedural steps to slow down the speed of the case, in addition to raising substantive issues in the case that need to be argued and defended.  As an example, we have defeated a foreclosure on a procedural ground, commonly known as a single refiling rule (like “double jeopardy” in criminal law), which prevented the lender from foreclosing forever. In that case we were able to remove the mortgage lien, leaving the homeowner mortgage free.

Will I Be Able to Get My Home Back If It’s Been Foreclosed or Is in the Foreclosure Process?

Just because a foreclosure case has been filed does not mean that you will lose your property. You are still the legal owner of the home. If you skillfully defend the foreclosure case, you can gain leverage with your lender – and ultimately save your home.

It is up to our firm to create that leverage for you, things that we can use to bargain with the lender – and this leverage is created in the courtroom. By identifying and arguing issues in the foreclosure case, we can take back control of the case and negotiate on a more level playing field. It’s like a poker game. We need chips to play with, to put in the middle of the table, and we are very good at giving homeowners those chips so that they can play with.

At the end of the day, just remember that you don’t have to lose your home after a foreclosure case if filed. You can fight back.  But you do need skillful representation, aggressive representation—and that’s where we come into the picture. The foreclosure can be the best or the worst thing that happens to you. It depends on the steps you take; you can emerge with lower payments, a smaller loan balance, or lose the property.


What Are Some Possible Alternatives to Foreclosure in Illinois?

Possible alternatives could include a loan modification, a short sale, a repayment plan, a forbearance agreement, a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a consent foreclosure, a reduced payoff, or just a regular pay off or a regular reinstatement. Some homeowners are able to pay the past due amounts, and some homeowners can pay off the whole debt after they refinance or get a new loan.
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For more information on Foreclosure Proceedings in the State of Illinois, an initial consultation with our office is your best next step. Get the information and legal answers ’you need by calling (312) 600-8815 today.