Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Friend of mine is in a jam & not sure what to do. His mother owned a home that he lived in with her. She had a lot of medical problems, & was behind on mortgage (Citibank), & has since passed. There is still a mortgage balance of approx. 58,000. There was no will, trust, or any legal document or arrangement made by his mother. House in her name solely. He has continued to live there for the past 6 months since she passed. He has not made any mortgage payments since she passed (8/2010). The bank has started pre-foreclosure proceedings. The bank sent a letter to the house addressed "heirs of" his mother. Since the house wasn't legally willed to him, & is not in his name, can he just legally walk away? If so, what are the ramifications? A rep from the bank had visited him @ the home a couple/few months after his mother passed. They indicated they did not necessarily want to foreclose, as it is in the bank's better interest to have someone still occupy the property & work something out with the financials. He originally didn't want to leave, but due to work responsibilities (he is a contractor & travels 80% of the time & is rarely there to begin with) etc... he wishes to most likely relocate. He realizes that if he were to walk away he would lose approx. 50,000 in equity, except that the home is in an extremely rural area, is a very old home (early 1900's) & needs complete update/remodeling, etc.. They had the home on the market for 6+ months, 2 years ago, and only a couple people to look. With the market as is, & the unemployment rate in area, he does not feel that keeping the home would be in his best interest. Can anyone explain what options there may be, & the best way for him to walk away from the situation would be? The property is in Ogle County, IL , unincorporated, town of Leaf River.


Asked on 4/06/11, 9:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

Assuming he did not sign anything with the bank, he has no personal obligation, so yes, he can just walk away from the property. If there truly is that much equity, he might want to give selling it another try, but that is up to him.

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Answered on 4/06/11, 9:37 am


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