What is a Judicial Foreclosure and How Can I Avoid One?

When you are behind on your mortgage payments in Oak Park or elsewhere in Illinois, you may be concerned about the possibility of foreclosure and how it will affect your life and your credit. You might also know that you could be at risk of something known as a “judicial foreclosure,” but you may be unsure about what that means and whether any foreclosure you will face will be a judicial foreclosure. Our Oak Park foreclosure defense lawyers can provide you with more information about judicial foreclosures in Illinois, and we can tell you about potential options to avoid a judicial foreclosure, even if you must move out of your home and find a new residence.

Illinois is a Judicial Foreclosure State

The term “judicial foreclosure” refers to the way in which a property foreclosure occurs, and Illinois is what is known as a judicial foreclosure state. Accordingly, under Illinois law, all foreclosures are judicial foreclosure, which means that the bank must file a lawsuit in order to move forward with a foreclosure, and the court must ultimately allow the foreclosure to occur.

How does this process work? Typically, once you are late on your mortgage payments by 120 days or more, the lender will file a lawsuit and will ask the court to allow a foreclosure sale of the property to occur. As with any other lawsuit, the lender must serve you with the summons and complaint, and you must receive information about foreclosure law and consumer rights in Illinois. From that point, you will have 30 days to respond, after which point the lender will ask the court to allow the foreclosure sale to occur.

Options for Avoiding a Judicial Foreclosure in Illinois

Given that all foreclosures in Illinois must be judicial foreclosures under state law, any option for avoiding a judicial foreclosure is an option for avoiding foreclosure more generally in Oak Park. Once the judicial foreclosure process begins and you receive a summons and complaint, you may have multiple options to stop the foreclosure so that you will not have the foreclosure on your credit and can have a chance to rebuild your credit much faster than if the foreclosure occurs.

Common options for avoiding a judicial foreclosure in Illinois include:

• Short sale, which involves selling your property for less than the amount you owe on the mortgage with permission from the lender, and asking the lender to forgive the remaining amount; or
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure, which involves transferring over your property to the bank and, in most cases, asking the bank to forgive the amount you owe on the mortgage.

Seek Assistance from a Foreclosure Defense Attorney in Oak Park

If you are facing foreclosure and want to avoid a foreclosure sale, you may have multiple options available to you. One of our experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense attorneys can take a look at your circumstances today and discuss options for stopping the foreclosure. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today for more information about how we can help you with your case.


See Related Blog Posts:

Illinois Court Denies Borrower Appeal Concerning Foreclosure Sale

What are the Steps for a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure?