Foreclosure Law in Illinois

In Lemont, Illinois, foreclosure is a legal process through which an entity which has issued a mortgage takes possession and/or ownership of the property that secured the mortgage, because the person who took out the mortgage has consistently failed to make payments on it. The property in question is usually a house.

If an ordinary consumer faces foreclosure, it normally involves a home that was purchased with a mortgage from a bank. The bank will normally try to sell the house at a public option, with the hope of at least covering the remaining debt, to avoid taking a large loss.

In all states in the U.S., including Illinois, borrowers have the option of foreclosure by judicial sale. This allows a court to oversee the sale of the property by the bank. The purpose of this is to get the house to sell for the highest price possible. While this might seem like something that would only benefit the bank, it is also a great benefit to the borrower, since it increases the likelihood that the sale will cover the full balance of the mortgage, preventing them from having to pay it.

In some states, original mortgages are recognized as "non-recourse" loans, making the above problem a non-issue. This basically means that once the mortgaged property is sold by the lender, the debt is discharged, even if the sale nets less than the remaining balance on the mortgage. The borrower will simply have to write this off as a loss. However, this usually does not apply to refinanced or second mortgages.

How to Possibly Avoid Foreclosure in Lemont, Illinois

It is absolutely necessary that you maintain a line of communication with your lender. Your can't expect your lender to accommodate your changed financial situation if they don't know about it. Ignoring the issue and hoping it will go away is the worst possible solution.

Throughout all this, you should remember one thing: the bank doesn't really want your house. After all, banks aren't real estate speculators, they're primarily money lenders. They stand to make a great deal of money if you are able to make your mortgage payments until it's paid off. They're likely to make much less if they're forced to sell your house.

It's possible that your lender is willing to negotiate a plan that results in temporarily-lower payments on your mortgage, especially if this means that they will be able to get some payments, instead of none at all.

Finally, there is the "short sale." Normally considered a last resort, a short sale results in the borrower losing their home, but discharges almost all of their remaining mortgage debt. If the house is worth far less than the balance of the mortgage, this might be a good option. In Illinois, when a house is sold in a short sale, the proceeds go to the lender. If it sells for less than the mortgage balance, whatever's leftover is forgiven. If it sells for more, the surplus goes to the homeowner.

Can a Lemont, Illinois real estate attorney help?

In Lemont, Illinois, dealing with a possible foreclosure is never easy. However, the assistance of a brilliant real estate lawyer can make the whole process much more bearable, and possibly delay or even prevent the foreclosure altogether.