How to Buy a Foreclosure in Illinois

Perform a Web search for foreclosures in Illinois to find a property to purchase. Many sites allow you to search county by county or even city by city. You can also find foreclosures through real estate agents or simply by driving through a particular neighborhood.

Inspect the condition of the property, and compare it to similar properties in the area to help you determine its fair market value. Subtract all liens and back taxes owed by the homeowner to calculate the gross equity of the property. Then, subtract any rehab costs, resale costs and foreclosure fees from the gross equity amount to figure the net equity of the property.

Hire a qualified real estate agent to help guide you through the process, especially if you are a first-time buyer or investor. Find agents online or simply contact local real estate firms.

Contact the property owner. You may be negotiating with the mortgagor, a trustee corporation or the lender, depending on which stage of the foreclosure the property is in. Foreclosure proceedings in Illinois are judicial, meaning that a court must issue a judgment of foreclosure before the property can be sold. You may be able to negotiate a short sale with the borrower prior to the judgment of foreclosure, although many borrowers want to try to hang on to their property and may not be willing to sell unless they are forced to by the court.

Keep track of the status of the case so you can determine with whom to negotiate the sale. In Illinois, foreclosures are handled by the Chancery division of county courts, and they can provide you with information on the status of the case. You can also determine the property status on a website, or by contacting an agent. Then you can make an offer based on the fair market value of the property.