Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Re: property taxes

Somebody is trying to get your house through adverse possession. It is legal only if you allow it to go unchallenged. My thought is there is fraud involved. See an attorney forthwith.

Re: property taxes

Despite what the previous responder has indicated, adverse possession in Illinois requires the hostile, actual, visible, notorious and continuous taking of property for a period of at least 20 years. More likely what is going on here is that there were property taxes that went unpaid and somebody purchased those property taxes at a "tax sale". It depends on what type of tax sale it was in order to determine the amount of time the owner of the property has to "redeem" (pay back the property taxes that went unpaid, plus other fees and interest). There are particular notification requirements that the person who "bought" your taxes must employ to get a deed to your property which it would appear is why you received the notification that you did. As far as repayment, you MUST redeem by paying whatever is owed IN FULL and BEFORE THE FINAL REDEMPTION DATE. There are no ands, ifs or buts about prolonging that date. Only the purchaser of the taxes can request an extension, and you would be at their mercy as to whether or not they would grant an extension. The Chicago Bar Association has an attorney referral program that may be able to help in putting you in contact with an attorney who can assist in this type of matter.

Re: property taxes

Take a careful look at the notice you received. Hopefully it has some kind of "redemption" date on it. That's the date you have to pay the tax bill by (at the amount stated) to make sure you don't lose your property to a tax buyer. Don't delay or you may lose the property!

If you have any questions or want to go over the notice, contact my office for a free consultation. Good luck.