- Who sends it
- The lender's lawyer files the case in circuit court; a sheriff or process server hands you the summons
- What it starts
- 30 days to file an Appearance and Answer, and 90 days to reinstate, both counted from service
- Do this first
- Write down the date you were served and call legal aid or Illinois Court Help
What this document is in Illinois
An Illinois lender cannot sell your home without going to court. It files a complaint to foreclose the mortgage in the circuit court of your county, and the court issues a summons naming you as a defendant. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113, a copy of the note, with all endorsements, must be attached to the complaint.
For a home, the lender must also attach a one page Homeowner Notice titled "Important Information for Homeowners in Foreclosure", in English and Spanish, in at least 12 point type (735 ILCS 5/15-1504.5). It lists 10 points about your rights and names your current mortgage servicer in bold type.
Federal rules generally keep a servicer from filing until you are more than 120 days behind, so this usually arrives after several missed payments. See the national summons and complaint page for how lawsuits work in general.
What the Homeowner Notice tells you
- Possession: the lawful occupants can live in the home until a judge enters an eviction order.
- Ownership: you still own the home until the court rules otherwise.
- Reinstatement: you can bring the mortgage current within 90 days. See how to stop foreclosure in Illinois.
- Redemption: you can sell, refinance or pay off the loan during the redemption period.
- Surplus: you can ask the court for any extra money left after a sale.
- Payoff: if you ask in writing with your name, the property address and the loan number, the mortgage company must send a payoff statement within 10 business days, and the first one is free (735 ILCS 5/15-1505.5).
- Proceed with caution: people may contact you offering to help. Talk to a lawyer, government official or housing counselor first.
Your deadlines and how to count them
- Appearance and Answer: within 30 days after you were served, not counting the day of service. The 30 days run from the day the summons was left with you or the person the law allows, not from a later mailing (Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(d), 181(a)). Count calendar days. The date on your summons controls.
- Reinstatement: within 90 days from the date you, or the last of all borrowers, were served or otherwise came into the case. If you were served by publication, count from the first date of publication (735 ILCS 5/15-1602). Reinstating means paying the past due amounts plus the costs the mortgage requires, not the whole balance, and the case must then be dismissed.
- Redemption: the later of 7 months from service on all borrowers or 3 months after the judgment of foreclosure (735 ILCS 5/15-1603(b)(1)). This is shorter if the court finds the home abandoned.
- If you miss the 30 days, the court can find you in default. You can ask for more time with a Motion to Extend Time to File, but do not count on it being granted.
See how long foreclosure takes in Illinois for the full timeline.
What to do this week
- Write the service date on the summons and mark day 30 and day 90 on a calendar.
- Get the statewide Mortgage Foreclosure Appearance and Answer form from the Illinois Courts approved forms page, or use the guided version at Illinois Legal Aid Online. File it with the circuit clerk, usually by e-filing. If you cannot pay the fee, file an Application for Waiver of Court Fees.
- If you think you were not properly served, talk to a lawyer before you file the answer. The court's instructions say a motion to challenge service must come first.
- Send your servicer a written request for a payoff statement and a reinstatement figure, with your name, address and loan number.
- Send a complete loss mitigation application. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 114 uses a sworn affidavit in which the lender lists the loss mitigation programs your loan is eligible for and what it has done.
- Ask the circuit clerk whether your county has a mediation program and its sign-up deadline. Cook County and the 17th Circuit run programs. See Illinois foreclosure mediation.
Free help in Illinois
- Illinois Court Help: call or text 833-411-1121 for help with court forms and filing. This number is printed in every Illinois civil summons under Rule 101.
- Illinois Legal Aid Online: guided foreclosure forms and a tool to apply for free legal help.
- Cook County: the Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program helpline is (855) 452-2637 for homeowners who have received a summons.
- Illinois Attorney General Homeowner Helpline: 866-544-7151.
- A HUD-approved housing counselor: (800) 569-4287. More on the Illinois foreclosure help page.
Scam warning
Your case is public, so expect letters and visits once it is filed. Under the Illinois Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, a paid consultant cannot collect a fee until every promised service is done and cannot take your deed or a power of attorney (765 ILCS 940). Federal rules also bar most companies from charging before you sign an agreement with your servicer. Free help is listed above. See is this letter a scam.
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
Does the 30 days to answer an Illinois foreclosure include weekends?
Yes. It is 30 calendar days after the day you were served, not counting the day of service itself (Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(d), 181(a)). It runs from the day the summons was handed to you or left as the law allows, not from a mailing. Check the summons, since its date controls.
Do I have to move out after I get an Illinois foreclosure summons?
No. The Homeowner Notice required by 735 ILCS 5/15-1504.5 says you still own the home until the court rules otherwise and that lawful occupants can stay until a judge enters an eviction order. Possession usually passes to a buyer only 30 days after a judge confirms a sale.
Is the Homeowner Notice something I file?
No. It is information for you. The document you file is the Mortgage Foreclosure Appearance and Answer, within 30 days of service.
When does the 90-day reinstatement period start if my spouse was served later?
If more than one borrower signed the mortgage, the 90 days run from the date the last of you was served or came into the case (735 ILCS 5/15-1602).
Other Illinois letters
- 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 Sale (judicial sale)An Illinois notice of sale gives the date, time and place of the court-ordered sale of your home. It can be published while you still have time to redeem. The sale is not final until a judge confirms it, and you may still be able to stop or delay it.
- 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 5/15-1504.5: Homeowner notice to be attached to summons
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1602: Reinstatement
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1603: Redemption
- 735 ILCS 5/15-1505.5: Payoff demands
- Illinois Supreme Court Rule 101: Summons and original process
- Illinois Supreme Court Rule 181: Appearances, answers, motions
- Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113: Practice and procedure in mortgage foreclosure cases
- Illinois Courts: How to Respond to a Mortgage Foreclosure Complaint
- Illinois Courts: Approved Statewide Forms, Mortgage Foreclosure