Receiving a foreclosure summons doesn’t have to mean kissing your home goodbye. Aggressive debt collectors will have you believe it’s time to give up, preying on your fear of losing your home. In reality, you may still have months to pay your debt and reclaim your home.
In Illinois, foreclosures automatically go through the judicial process. Knowing the foreclosure timeline can help you defend your rights and options.
How long does foreclosure take?
The time a foreclosure proceeding takes depends on whether you choose to contest it. It starts if you keep missing your mortgage payments. Here’s how long the process typically takes:
- Defaulting on payments: If you miss your mortgage payment, your lender will give you a grace period to catch up. After 90 days or three consecutive months without payment, the lender sends a Notice of Default informing you of their intent to foreclose.
- Foreclosure filing: After defaulting on your loan, the lender sends you a breach letter 30 days before filing for foreclosure. During this 120-day pre-foreclosure period, you can apply for loss mitigation options. Otherwise, the lender can file a complaint.
- Serving summons: You will be served mortgage foreclosure summons within a month or two after the foreclosure filing.
- Filing an answer: You must file a response and appear in court within 30 days after receiving the summons.
- Entering default judgment: If you don’t respond to the summons, the lender can file a motion for a default judgment for foreclosure. If you did, the lender could still file a motion for summary judgment to argue against your case.
- Reinstating your loan: Lenders typically allow you to reinstate your loan within 90 days after summons.
- Redeeming your mortgage: Seven months after receiving the summons or three months after the foreclosure judgment, you could still pay off the total outstanding mortgage balance.
- Receiving the notice of judicial sale: Once the redemption period expires, the lender can sell the property and send you a notice, which should also appear in a newspaper for at least three consecutive weeks. At least 10 days before the sale, the lender must send you another notice.
- Eviction or special redemption: After the sale, you can file a motion to confirm it. If the court affirms, the purchaser can claim property ownership and proceed with eviction in 30 days. Otherwise, you may pay the judicial sale price and exercise the right to redeem your home.
Foreclosure is a complex and time-sensitive process that you don’t have to go through alone. Consulting an experienced consumer protection attorney can help you meet all legal requirements and defend against foreclosure proceedings.