- Who sends it
- The lender's lawyer publishes it and mails or e-serves you a copy
- What it starts
- The countdown to a judicial sale held by a sheriff, judge or selling officer
- Do this first
- Call the contact named in the notice to confirm the date, then call legal aid
What this document is in Illinois
After a judgment of foreclosure, an Illinois home is sold at a judicial sale run by a judge, the sheriff, or another person the court names, such as a private selling officer (735 ILCS 5/15-1507(b); Ill. S. Ct. R. 113(f)(2)). Since January 1, 2025 the lender may ask that the sale be in person, online, or both.
The notice must list the contact person's name, address and phone number, the street address and legal description, the time and place, whether the sale is online or in person and the bidding website, the terms, and the case title, number and court (735 ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(1)). The national notice of sheriff's sale page covers court sales in other states.
When it must be published and sent
- Published once a week for at least 3 calendar weeks in a row (Sunday through Saturday). The first notice runs no more than 45 days before the sale, and the last at least 7 days before (735 ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(2)).
- If you filed an appearance and were not found in default, you must be sent notice 7 to 45 days before the sale (735 ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(3)).
- Rule 113(f)(1) adds a notice at least 10 business days before the sale: e-served to defendants who appeared, and mailed to defendants who did not appear. Business days leave out weekends and court holidays.
- The notice can go out before your redemption period ends (735 ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(5)). The sale itself cannot happen until the reinstatement and redemption periods are over.
- If the sale is put off, the new date is announced at the sale or posted on the seller's website. A new published notice is needed only if the new date is 60 days or more after the last scheduled sale.
What it does and does not mean
- It does not end your ownership. After the sale, the buyer gets a certificate of sale that says it is subject to confirmation by the court (735 ILCS 5/15-1507(f)).
- It does not mean you must move. You can stay until 30 days after the order confirming the sale.
- Your legal right to reinstate has almost always run out by now, but a lender can still choose to accept a payoff, reinstatement or workout.
What to do this week
- Call the contact person named in the notice and check the case file with the circuit clerk to confirm the date.
- If your redemption date has not passed, ask for a written payoff statement, which must come within 10 business days, and give the lender's attorney at least 15 days' written notice of the date you plan to redeem, not counting weekends and court holidays.
- File the statewide Motion to Stay Foreclosure Sale with a Notice of Motion if you have a pending modification, a short sale contract or another good reason, and tell the clerk the sale date so it is heard in time.
- Send any complete loss mitigation application now. Federal protection against a sale applies only if the servicer receives it more than 37 days before the sale.
- Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer or legal aid if you are considering bankruptcy, which must be filed before the sale to stop it.
- Read sale date set in Illinois for every option.
Help and scam warning
Free help: Illinois Legal Aid Online, Illinois Court Help at 833-411-1121, the Attorney General's Homeowner Helpline at 866-544-7151, and in Cook County the mediation helpline at (855) 452-2637. A published sale notice brings investors and rescue offers. Never sign over your deed or pay an upfront fee to someone who promises to stop the sale. See Illinois foreclosure help.
The rest of the Illinois process
See how foreclosure works in Illinois, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Illinois, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
Will I get the Illinois notice of sale in the mail if I never answered the lawsuit?
You should. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113(f)(1) requires the lender's lawyer to mail notice of the sale date, time and place to defendants who did not appear, at least 10 business days before the sale. The statute's separate 7 to 45 day notice goes to parties who appeared and were not defaulted.
Can the Illinois sale be held online?
Yes. Since January 1, 2025, 735 ILCS 5/15-1507(b)(2) lets the lender ask for the sale to be in person, online, or both. The notice must say which and give the bidding website.
What if my Illinois sale was held without proper notice?
You can raise it before the sale is confirmed. A party entitled to notice who did not get it can ask the court to set the sale aside, and a homeowner living in the home does not have to post a bond to do so (735 ILCS 5/15-1508(c)).
Does asking for a stay give me more time to redeem in Illinois?
Usually no. Under 735 ILCS 5/15-1603(c), starting a legal proceeding or getting an order staying the sale does not pause the redemption period. Plan around the redemption date in your judgment.
Other Illinois letters
- Summons and Complaint to Foreclose Mortgage, with the Homeowner Notice (Important Information for Homeowners in Foreclosure)In Illinois, every home foreclosure is a lawsuit, and the summons is how it starts for you. You have 30 days after you are served to file an Appearance and Answer, and 90 days to catch up the loan. You still own your home and can keep living there.
- Notice of Entry of Default and Judgment of ForeclosureThis notice from the circuit clerk means the judge entered an order of default and a judgment of foreclosure because you did not respond in time. The home has not been sold yet. You may be able to ask the judge to undo the default, and your redemption rights continue until the date in the judgment.
- Notice of the motion to confirm the sale, and the order confirming the saleIn Illinois the sale is not final on auction day. The buyer or lender must ask the judge to confirm it, and you must be mailed notice. This hearing is your chance to object. If the judge confirms, the buyer can take possession 30 days later.
- Special Notice of Surplus FundsIf your Illinois foreclosure sale brought in more than the judgment, the extra money may belong to you. This notice tells you the amount and includes a petition form. You claim it by asking the judge in your foreclosure case. You do not need to pay a company to do it.
- Notice to known occupants that control of the property has changedAfter an Illinois foreclosure sale is confirmed, the new owner must tell the people living in the building who now controls it. The notice must say it is NOT a notice to vacate. If you rent, you may have the right to stay for a time, and you cannot be removed without a court order naming you.
Sources
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1507: Judicial sale
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1508: Report of sale and confirmation of sale
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1603: Redemption
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1505.5: Payoff demands
- Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113: Practice and procedure in mortgage foreclosure cases
- Illinois Courts: Approved Statewide Forms, Mortgage Foreclosure (Motion to Stay Foreclosure Sale)