In Illinois, the foreclosure redemption period on a residential property runs until the later of seven months after all borrowers were served with the foreclosure complaint or three months after the court enters the foreclosure judgment.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 – Redemption To redeem, you pay the full mortgage debt in one lump sum, not just the missed payments. If you pay in time, the foreclosure ends and you keep the house free of the foreclosed lien. Miss the deadline and the lender can proceed to sale.
Two things sit at the center of this right, and getting them straight before anything else saves confusion later. The clock is fixed by statute, and the amount is the entire loan balance plus costs, not the arrears.
How the Redemption Clock Is Measured
The statute gives you whichever of two deadlines falls later:
- Seven months from the date all borrowers were served with the foreclosure complaint (or otherwise submitted to the court’s jurisdiction), for residential property.
- Three months from the date the court enters the foreclosure judgment.
In most cases the seven-month clock from service controls, because judgment is usually entered well within four months of service. When a case moves slowly and judgment comes late, the three-month post-judgment clock is what gives you the extra time.
For non-residential property, the periods are six months from service or three months from judgment, whichever is later.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 – Redemption
Illinois courts treat these deadlines as firm. Attempts to redeem after the period has closed will be rejected.3Illinois Courts. 2016 IL App (1st) 143771-U
When the Redemption Period Gets Shortened
Two findings by the court can shrink the timeline dramatically. Both catch homeowners off guard.
Underwater Property with a Deficiency Waiver
If the court finds the property is worth less than 90% of the total debt owed, and the lender waives all rights to a deficiency judgment against you, the redemption period drops to 60 days after the foreclosure judgment (or the end of the reinstatement period, whichever is later).2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 – Redemption Some lenders accept this trade because they get to sale faster.
Abandoned Property
If the court finds you abandoned the property, the redemption period shrinks to 30 days after judgment, and the reinstatement period cannot extend beyond that shortened window.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 – Redemption Leaving the home during proceedings without communicating your intent to the court is what puts this on the table.
When the Right Disappears Entirely
The right to redeem can be waived, and it is extinguished by a consent foreclosure. In a consent foreclosure, the lender takes title directly in exchange for waiving any deficiency, and you give up reinstatement and redemption as part of the deal. Once the court enters a consent judgment, no redemption right remains.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1402 – Consent Foreclosure
Who Can Exercise the Right
Only an “owner of redemption” can redeem. That means you as the borrower, all co-borrowers on the mortgage, and anyone who has legally succeeded to your interest, such as heirs or assignees.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 – Redemption An unrelated third party who wants to buy the property cannot redeem in your place without a recognized legal interest.
What You Have to Pay to Redeem
Redemption is not catching up on missed payments. It is satisfying the entire debt. The amount is set by the foreclosure judgment and continues to grow until the day you pay. It includes:
- Principal and accrued interest owed on the mortgage as of the judgment date.
- Court costs and expenses the court has authorized.
- Attorney fees, if the mortgage allows them and the court approves.
- Advances the lender made to protect its interest, such as property taxes or insurance premiums.
- Per diem interest from the judgment date to the actual redemption date, at the mortgage rate that would have applied absent default.
- Post-judgment expenses the lender reasonably incurs, as certified by the lender.
The whole amount is due in a single transaction. There is no installment option. And because per diem interest keeps running, the price rises each day you wait.
Request a written payoff statement from your servicer as soon as you decide to pursue redemption. Under federal law, the servicer must provide an accurate payoff balance within seven business days of receiving your written request.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1639g – Requests for Payoff Amounts of Home Loan Ask for the per diem figure too, so you can compute the total for whatever day you actually plan to pay.
How to Actually Redeem
Three things have to happen in sequence, and the compressed timeline is the hard part.
First, lock in the number. Get the written payoff from your servicer with the per diem rate spelled out. Don’t rely on estimates from earlier in the case; the figure moves daily.
Second, secure the funds. Because the full balance is due at once, most homeowners need financing to redeem. Refinancing with a new lender, borrowing from family, drawing on retirement accounts (with attention to tax penalties), or a bridge loan are the usual options. Approval on a new mortgage while a foreclosure is pending is difficult, so start early.
Third, pay before the period expires. Payment goes to the court or the party identified in the foreclosure judgment. Build in a buffer of several days for wire transfer and court processing. If the money does not clear before the deadline, the redemption fails.
When redemption is complete, the foreclosure stops, the mortgage debt is satisfied, and title stays with you.
The 30-Day Special Right of Redemption After Sale
Even after the sale, one narrow second chance may exist. If the lender (or its nominee) was the winning bidder and the sale price was less than the full statutory redemption amount, you have 30 days after the court confirms the sale to redeem by paying the sale price, any additional costs the court confirms, and interest at the statutory judgment rate from the date the purchase price was paid.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1604 – Special Right to Redeem
This special right applies only to residential property. And unlike ordinary redemption, it does not necessarily wipe out a deficiency: the statute preserves the lender’s right to a deficiency judgment, which retains the same priority on the property that the original mortgage had.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1604 – Special Right to Redeem You get the house back, but you can still owe the gap.
Reinstatement: The Cheaper Alternative
If paying off the whole loan is out of reach, reinstatement is a separate right and usually the smarter move when it is still available. Reinstatement means paying the missed payments, late fees, and foreclosure-related expenses and resuming normal monthly payments. The mortgage stays in place on its original terms and the foreclosure case is dismissed.
You have 90 days from service of the foreclosure complaint to reinstate. Reinstatement is not strictly a one-time right, but if a court has already found you exercised it previously, you are limited to one additional use.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/15-1602 – Reinstatement
The trade-off is straightforward. Reinstatement costs less but closes earlier and requires that you can keep paying the mortgage going forward. Redemption stays open longer, applies even after reinstatement lapses, and satisfies the debt entirely, but requires the full payoff in a single transaction.
Some homeowners can also close the arrears gap with the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, which covers past-due mortgage payments. It is scheduled to end in September 2026 or when state funds run out. Eligibility requires a financial hardship connected to the COVID-19 pandemic and household income at or below the state program’s limit, which for most states is 150% of the area median income or $79,900, whichever is higher.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Get Homeowner Assistance Fund Help
Before committing to redemption, run the numbers past the closing. A home you redeem but cannot afford to carry lands you back in default within a year or two, with less savings and the same mortgage. Redemption is the strongest tool Illinois law gives a homeowner in foreclosure, but only when the math works going forward.