Illinois motivated seller leads, county by county
2 counties, each with its own lists, its own test and its own capped seats. Pick yours.
Counties hold a yearly sale of the unpaid tax; bidders bid the penalty rate down. For most homes the redemption period is 2½ years from the sale (it can be extended to 3); the buyer then asks the court for a tax deed. Mortgage foreclosure in Illinois is judicial. LeadCounty covers 2 Illinois counties and 2,201,192 properties, refreshed weekly from each county's own offices.
Every Illinois county with its counts
| County | Properties | Tax delinquent | Inheritance deeds | In foreclosure | Absentee owners | Seats | Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County (Chicago) | 1,864,270 | 70,914 | – | 2,226 | 432,894 | Seats open | 2.7x |
| DuPage County | 336,922 | 317 | – | 72 | 46,573 | Seats open | – |
LeadCounty covers 2 counties in Illinois with 2,201,192 properties. The largest is Cook County (Chicago) with 1,864,270.
71,231 properties are behind on tax across the state, most of them in Cook County (70,914); 479,467 have an absentee owner.
2 of the 2 Illinois counties still have open seats; each county is capped so the same owners are not mailed by everyone.
How tax sales, foreclosures and disclosures work in Illinois
| Tax-sale type | Redemption period | Mortgage foreclosure | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax lien sale | For most homes the redemption period is 2½ years from the sale (it can be extended to 3); the buyer then asks the court for a tax deed. | Judicial | 35 ILCS 200, Articles 21 and 22 (Property Tax Code: sale and redemption) |
How to get a tax delinquent list in Illinois · Compare all 28 states
- Unpaid property tax
- Tax lien sale. Counties hold a yearly sale of the unpaid tax; bidders bid the penalty rate down. Cook County also holds a scavenger sale for long-delinquent parcels.
- Redemption period
- For most homes the redemption period is 2½ years from the sale (it can be extended to 3); the buyer then asks the court for a tax deed.
- Mortgage foreclosure
- Judicial. Foreclosures go through circuit court; owners have a redemption period before the judicial sale.
- Seller disclosure
- The Residential Real Property Disclosure Act requires a disclosure report for 1–4 unit homes.
- Wholesaling
- Illinois counts marketing more than one wholesale contract in 12 months as brokerage that needs a real estate licence (2019 law).
General information from public statutes and agency guidance, reviewed regularly, not legal advice. Rules change and counties differ; confirm with a local real-estate attorney or title company.
What the Illinois rules mean for your lists
Illinois sells the unpaid tax, not the house, so a tax-delinquent owner usually keeps the property through the redemption period. That makes the delinquent list a long-running list: owners stay reachable for months or years, and the earlier you write, the more choices they still have.
Mortgage foreclosures in Illinois go through the courts, which takes months. Owners with a foreclosure case can be reached long before a sale date, and a sale before the auction can protect their credit and equity.
If you buy and resell, plan for Illinois's seller disclosure rules: they apply to every resale of a home, including a flip.
Wholesalers should read the state's rules on assigning contracts before marketing a property they only hold under contract.
Illinois tax delinquent lists
Illinois in foreclosure lists
Illinois inherited lists
Illinois absentee owner lists
Illinois out-of-state owner lists
Illinois vacant lists
Illinois code violations lists
Illinois high equity lists
Illinois tired landlords lists
Illinois questions
How do tax sales work in Illinois?
Counties hold a yearly sale of the unpaid tax; bidders bid the penalty rate down. Cook County also holds a scavenger sale for long-delinquent parcels. For most homes the redemption period is 2½ years from the sale (it can be extended to 3); the buyer then asks the court for a tax deed.
Is Illinois a judicial foreclosure state?
Judicial. Foreclosures go through circuit court; owners have a redemption period before the judicial sale.
What must home sellers disclose in Illinois?
The Residential Real Property Disclosure Act requires a disclosure report for 1–4 unit homes. Illinois counts marketing more than one wholesale contract in 12 months as brokerage that needs a real estate licence (2019 law).
Where the Illinois data comes from
Each county's appraiser or auditor (owners, values, sales), treasurer or tax collector (bills, payments, delinquency), recorder or clerk (deeds, foreclosure and probate filings where public) and city code enforcement. Each county page lists its offices; see how we collect the records.
Find motivated sellers in every Illinois county we cover.
Motivated-seller lists from official county records, scored and explained, refreshed every Monday.
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