The Mortgage Foreclosure Summons and Complaint

After a bank has sent its notice of intent to accelerate, the next document a homeowner will receive will be the Mortgage Foreclosure Summons and Complaint.  These documents will be served upon the homeowner at the homeowner’s residence.

The Mortgage Foreclosure Summons will be directed to each named defendant in the foreclosure matter, and will state something along the lines of:

“You are summoned and required to file an answer to the complaint in this case, a copy of which is hereto attached, or otherwise file your appearance, in the office of the Clerk of this Court, within 30 days after service of this summons, not counting the day of service.  If you fail to do so, a judgment by default may be entered against you for the relief asked in the complaint.”

The summons does exactly what it purports to do: it summons the defendants to Court so that they may participate in the proceeding.  The 30-day opportunity to file an appearance and answer or otherwise plead is standard in Illinois.  In both Lake County and Cook County, the summons will also include information regarding the foreclosure mediation programs available to homeowners.  These are excellent programs that may be utilized by homeowners to attempt some sort of loan workout with the bank before the foreclosure really starts to progress.  Homeowners unrepresented by attorneys often miss the deadline to utilize this program, but the Courts are occasionally willing to permit homeowners to enter these programs late (with the Court’s permission) provided that the bank hasn’t already obtained its judgment.

The Complaint for Foreclosure of Mortgage is a separate document that will also be included within the initial document package received from the process server.  The Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (IMFL) has a standard form complaint that must be adhered to.  Different plaintiff’s attorneys have slightly different Complaints, but for the most part they are strikingly similar.  Read the Complaint carefully, as many affirmative defenses can be raised based off of just the information contained within it.  The Complaint will also contain numerous exhibits, including the mortgage and note as it exists at the time of filing the Complaint.

An Answer to the Complaint for Foreclosure can be filed by a foreclosure defendant to either deny that he or she has defaulted on the loan, or to raise affirmative defenses against the foreclosure. Before proceeding with a defense, it is important to speak with a foreclosure defense lawyer to learn of all of your options and potential defenses to foreclosure.

Contact the Libertyville Foreclosure Defense Lawyers at Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg LLC Today

If you have received a foreclosure summons and complaint, it is important that you act immediately so you do not miss any opportunities to defend your case, participate in mediation, or seek loss mitigation alternatives that will be beneficial to you in the long run. If you are in foreclosure, contact the Libertyville foreclosure defense lawyers at Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg LLC today to learn of your options and how best to defend your foreclosure matter.