Lake County Sheriff Office to hold all of the foreclosure sales

Published On 2009-07-16
Lake County Sheriff Office to hold all of the foreclosure sales

     The number of foreclosure filings have more than doubled in the past two years in Lake County.  The Lake County Sheriff’s Office plans to occupy all of the foreclosure sales in Lake county in an effort to raise the county’s revenue.  The process as a whole will involve the Sheriff’s Office, Court Administration, the States attorney, the County Administrator’s Office, and the Office of Finance and Administrative Services. There is an expected profit of over $1.5 million dollars from the county taking part in this procedure. This process is also aimed at making the process of purchasing foreclosures simpler for prospective buyers. The Sheriff’s Office intends to create a joint ordinance to authorize the Sheriff to launch a Judicial Sales Division and initiate fees for the specified services which they provide to the public.

      Here’s how the process works: The Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Act allows the original owner(s) to get their property out of foreclosure by paying off the amount borrowed plus interest, costs and fees, within seven months or from the date of service or three months from the date in which foreclosure order was entered. It can either be reinstated or redeemed. The piece of real estate will go up for judicial sale if it fails to be restored or redeemed. The Sheriff’s Office staff has developed procedures and policies to accept all of Lake County’s judicial sales.

     Procedures vary from county to country regarding judicial sales. Some Judges’ decisions concerning judicial sales are vary significantly regarding the appointment of sale officers. The top three sale officers are the County Sheriff, Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation, and The Judicial Sales Corporation. Currently JUD and INTER hold almost 80% of the sales in Cook County. Some Judges will only approve the appointment of the Sheriff, and some Judges will not allow the selection of corporate sales officers. As a result, officials from Kane County, DuPage County, Will County, and recently Lake County have banned the sales to INTER and JUD.
   

     The officials from several counties have received many complaints about the complicated process and this process was designed to make foreclosure procedures easier. The process will now be centralized and the information will be distributed more clearly. The fee for this process is proposed to be $500 dollars to sufficiently cover all costs of the program which will be paid by the purchaser of the property. If the piece of real estate sells for less than $10,000.00 the fee shall be decreased to $150.00. The fee is required to be paid in advance of the sale.

     This plan will also help to create jobs as the increasing demand for judicial sales and the creation of the Judicial Sales Division in Lake County will require extra support staff in the Sheriff’s Office. Before this plan was adopted, the Lake County’s Sheriff’s Office only accounted for around 30 foreclosure transactions in the county out of numbers reaching to about 4,500.The process will now be easier for prospective buyers, while increasing the county’s revenue - a win/win situation for all.
 

Cristina Sivak
ILFLS Editor

ILFLS.com is the Chicago based, premium source for foreclosures, auctions, REOs and marketing lists specifically built for the investor by local real estate investors.

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