Illinois Adds Short Sale Provisions

On January 13, Illinois enacted SB 1259, thereby amending the Code of Civil Procedure to require a mortgagee to respond within ninety days to a residential mortgagor’s request to engage in a “short sale,” which the amendment defines as “the sale of real estate that is subject to a mortgage for an amount that is less than the amount owed to the mortgagee on the outstanding mortgage note.” In order to trigger the mortgagee’s response requirement, the mortgagor must present a bona fide written offer from a third party to purchase the property as a short sale. A mortgagee’s failure to accept the offer does not impair or abrogate its rights or affect the foreclosure proceedings, and the ninety-day response period does not stay the foreclosure proceedings. The bill became effective immediately upon passage.