Illustrative scene: a white woman in her seventies in a blue cardigan walking up the front walk to her 1920s red-brick bungalow on an older Illinois street in autumn

We Buy Houses in Illinois

Describe your Illinois house over the phone. A written cash offer arrives within 24 hours, and the closing date is yours to choose.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (984) 489-8269

Selling Your House for Cash in Illinois

Describe your Illinois house and its condition on one call, and you get a written cash offer within 24 hours.

You pay no commission, make no repairs and hold no showings. Illinois taxes a deed at 50 cents for every $500 of the price, $250 on a $250,000 house, and a county can add 25 cents more. You set the closing date, in as little as 14 days.

At a glance

No repairs
Close in as little as 14 days

We Buy Houses in These Illinois Cities

Rockford: Winnebago County
Peoria: Peoria County
Springfield: Sangamon County

What Does It Cost to Sell a House in Illinois?

In the $250,000 worked example below, listing an Illinois house costs about $31,000 before you pay off the mortgage: the agent's commission, repairs, the state and county transfer tax, attorney and title charges, and three months of carrying costs. Two Illinois lines surprise sellers: a property tax figure for months that haven't been billed yet, and, if you are 65 or older and deferred your taxes through the state program, paying those off before the sale can close. Here is what each cost is and who usually pays it.

See every cost line

Item	Usually paid by	Typical
State and county transfer tax	Whoever the contract says ¹	Figured from the price. The next section shows it at five prices, and a few transfers are exempt ².
Property taxes not yet billed	Usually divided between you and the buyer at closing, as your contract says. Illinois tax bills come a year behind: the taxes you pay this year are last year's ³.	Your latest bill is the starting point. Ask whoever handles the closing to show you the figure in writing.
Deferred property taxes (65 and older)	Paid from your sale money. No sale can close and record until the deferred taxes and interest are paid, unless the county collector certifies in writing that prompt payment is arranged ³.	What you deferred, plus interest: 3% a year on taxes for 2023 and later, 6% on earlier years ³.
Mortgage payoff and any liens	Paid from your sale money at closing	Whatever you still owe. Your lender must send a payoff statement within seven business days of a written request ⁴.
Attorney, title and recording charges	Usually split by the contract. Each side often has its own attorney.	Set by each attorney and title company. Ask for the figures in writing before you sign.

Illinois transfer tax: who pays it

Illinois law taxes the privilege of transferring title without saying which side pays ¹, so your contract should say, and it's worth reading that paragraph before you sign. If the deed states that the buyer takes the house subject to your mortgage, the part of the loan still owed isn't taxed ¹. Inside Chicago there is also a city tax of $5.25 per $500, and the city says that in general the buyer is responsible for $3.75 of it and the seller for $1.50 ⁵. That puts the seller's share at ${usd(chicagoSellerTax(250000))} on a $250,000 Chicago house and ${usd(chicagoSellerTax(350000))} on a $350,000 one. The example below includes the state and county tax as if you pay it.

How Much Is the Transfer Tax When You Sell a House in Illinois?

The state charges 50 cents for each $500 of the price, or part of $500 ¹, and a county can add 25 cents per $500 ⁶. Together that is $1.50 per $1,000: $300 on a $200,000 house and $600 on a $400,000 one.

Sale price	State tax	County tax	State and county
$150,000	$150	$75	$225
$200,000	$200	$100	$300
$300,000	$300	$150	$450
$350,000	$350	$175	$525
$400,000	$400	$200	$600

Some transfers pay nothing, such as a deed where the price is under $100, a deed to the lender in a foreclosure, and a deed that only corrects an earlier one ². Chicago's own tax comes on top inside the city, and the costs section above explains who pays it. Check whether your city or village adds a tax of its own.

Why Do Illinois Sellers Deal With Last Year's Property Taxes at Closing?

Because Illinois property taxes are paid a year behind. The bills you pay in a year are for the year before ³. Under the general rule, the first installment is late if it's still unpaid on June 1 and the second on September 1, or the day after the bill's due dates if those are later ⁷. Cook County bills earlier: its first-installment bill, mailed by January 31, is 55% of the previous year's total ⁸, and it is late after March 1 (April 1 in 2026) ⁹.

So when you sell, some of the taxes for the time you owned the house haven't been billed yet, and the buyer will be the one paying those bills when they arrive. That's why the seller usually credits the buyer for them at closing, as the contract sets, and why an Illinois settlement statement often has a property tax line even when your bills are paid up. Bring your latest tax bill to the call, and ask whoever handles the closing which bill the credit is based on and how it was worked out.

How Long Does Foreclosure Take in Illinois?

Usually at least seven months from the day you are served, because every step runs through a court. The redemption period on a home runs until 7 months from service or 3 months from the judgment, whichever is later ¹⁰, and the auction comes only after it ends ¹¹.

Service: the 90-day window to catch up and end the case starts ¹².
Judgment: the court enters a judgment of foreclosure. The redemption period can be shortened to 30 days if the court finds the house abandoned ¹⁰.
Auction and confirmation: after the sale, the court holds a hearing and confirms it unless notice wasn't given, the terms were unconscionable, the sale was fraudulent or justice wasn't done ¹³.
Moving out: the buyer at the auction is entitled to possession 30 days after the sale is confirmed. Between the end of redemption and that day, the lender can ask that you pay a monthly amount to stay ¹⁴.

The Homeowner Notice says you can sell during the redemption period, and it urges you to get advice from a lawyer or a certified housing counselor about your rights and options ¹⁵.

Do You Pay Capital Gains Tax When You Sell a House in Illinois?

Illinois has no separate capital gains tax, but a gain is part of your income, and Illinois taxes an individual's net income at a flat 4.95% ¹⁶¹⁷. Illinois starts from your federal adjusted gross income ¹⁸, so a gain the federal home-sale rule leaves out of your income generally stays out of your Illinois income too.

That federal rule: if you owned the house and lived in it as your main home for at least two of the five years before the sale, you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of the gain, or up to $500,000 on a joint return with your spouse ¹⁹²⁰. For an inherited house, the starting point for any gain is generally its fair market value on the date the owner died ²¹.

This isn't tax advice. A tax professional can tell you what applies to you.

How Can You Tell a Cash Offer Is Real?

A real offer is in writing, names the people handling the closing, and lets you check them yourself before you sign. Here's what to look for:

A written contract. Read every page, including the price and the closing date, and have an Illinois real estate attorney review it.
An attorney you can look up. The Illinois Supreme Court's Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission lets you search any Illinois lawyer by name ²².
A title company you can call. Find its number yourself rather than from the paperwork, then ask whether it has the contract and the earnest money.
Caution with anyone who contacts you during a foreclosure. The notice that comes with an Illinois foreclosure summons tells homeowners to talk to a lawyer, government official or housing counselor before entering into any deal with people offering to help ¹⁵.
No fee to get an offer. You shouldn't have to pay anyone anything to hear what they'll pay for your house.

Selling in Illinois

From One Call to Closing Day in Illinois

Illustrative scene: a man in his late sixties on the phone at the kitchen table of an older Illinois home, a tax bill envelope in front of him

1. Tell Us About the House
One call covers your Illinois house as it is today. You make no repairs and hold no showings.
2. Your Offer, in Writing
You get a written cash offer within 24 hours, and no commission comes out of it.
3. Close When It Suits You
You set the closing date, in as little as 14 days, around your move, an estate or a lease.
Get My Cash Offer →
Takes about a minute.
or call (984) 489-8269

Facing Foreclosure, Probate or a Divorce in Illinois? What the Law Says

Each of these has its own Illinois rules and deadlines. Here's what the law generally says, in plain words. It isn't legal advice. For your own case, talk to an Illinois attorney.

Facing foreclosure

No Illinois lender can sell a house under a power of sale. A mortgage can be foreclosed only through the courts ²³. The summons comes with a Homeowner Notice that spells out your rights: you keep owning the home until the court rules otherwise, the people living there can stay until a judge orders them out, and you can sell, refinance or pay off the loan during the redemption period. The notice says your servicer must send a payoff statement within 10 business days of a written request that gives your name, the address and the loan number, and the first one is free ¹⁵; federal rules set 7 business days for most mortgages ⁴. If the auction brings more than the judgment, you can ask the court for the surplus ¹⁵. If it brings less, the court can enter a personal judgment for the rest when it confirms the sale ¹³.

Inherited a house

Without a will, Illinois splits the estate between a surviving spouse and the children: half to the spouse and half to the children. With no spouse, it all goes to the children; with a spouse and no children, it all goes to the spouse ²⁴. Whoever has the will has to file it with the court clerk as soon as the owner dies ²⁵. Once an estate is opened, the representative publishes a notice to creditors, and the claims date in it is at least 6 months after the first publication ²⁶. If the owner recorded a transfer on death instrument, the house passes to the named beneficiaries at death ²⁷. An Illinois probate attorney can tell you which applies and who signs the deed.

Behind on payments

Federal rules generally bar a mortgage servicer from starting foreclosure until you're more than 120 days behind ²⁸. Once an Illinois case is filed and you've been served, you have 90 days to reinstate: catch up the missed payments and the costs the mortgage allows, and the case is dismissed. If the court finds you've reinstated, you can't use it again on the same mortgage for five years ¹². Tell us on the call how far behind you are and whether papers have been served.

Going through a divorce

Marital property is what either spouse acquired during the marriage, apart from exceptions such as gifts and inheritances. In a divorce, the court gives each spouse their own non-marital property and divides the marital property in just proportions, without regard to marital misconduct, weighing factors such as what each spouse contributed ²⁹. Your divorce attorneys can tell you what your judgment allows before either of you signs a contract.

Selling a rental with tenants

The tenant doesn't have to move out before we make an offer. When an Illinois rental is sold, the new owner becomes liable to the tenants for their security deposits, with any interest the law requires, and you stay liable alongside the new owner ³⁰. A landlord who keeps any part of a deposit for damage must send an itemized statement within 30 days after the tenant moves out, or refund the deposit in full within 45 days ³¹. Tell us about the lease, the rent and the deposit on the call.

Moving away or downsizing

The sale can line up with your move. If you deferred property taxes through the state's senior program, the deferred taxes and interest come due within 90 days after the house stops being your qualifying home ³, and a home stops qualifying when you no longer live in it, apart from up to a year in a licensed care facility ³². Selling before you move, or soon after, keeps that clock from running past the closing.

What Do You Have to Disclose When You Sell an Illinois House As-Is?

The defects you actually know about. A seller of an Illinois home with one to four units fills in every item of the state's Residential Real Property Disclosure Report and hands it to the buyer before the contract is signed ³³³⁴. You have to disclose material defects you actually know of, but the law doesn't make you inspect or investigate to fill in the form ³⁵. If the report reveals a defect and reaches the buyer only after everyone has signed, the buyer has 5 business days to back out and get the earnest money back ³⁶.

Illinois adds a radon step. Before the buyer is bound by the contract, the seller gives the state pamphlet "Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions" and the Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards, and shares any radon test in their possession that showed high levels. Nothing in the law makes you test for radon or fix it ³⁷.

Some sales are exempt from both, among them a sale by an executor or administrator settling an estate, a sale under a court order, a sale from one co-owner to another, and a sale to a spouse or a direct relative such as a child ³⁸³⁹. A house built before 1978 also has the federal lead-based paint disclosure ⁴⁰. On the call, tell us what you know: the wet basement, the old roof, the furnace that's on its last winter.

Will a Cash Offer or a Listing Net You More in Illinois?

It depends on the house and on how long you can carry it. A house in good shape, with time to sell, may well bring more on the open market, so compare what each route leaves in your pocket, not the headline price. A listing usually costs an agent's commission, the repairs a buyer's inspection asks for, and months of mortgage, insurance, utilities and property taxes while it sits.

The example below works it through for an Illinois house, with the state and county transfer tax on the listing side. Take the net it leaves and set our written offer beside it. If the listing comes out ahead and you can wait, listing may be the better choice.

On a $250,000 sale

Example, not a quote.

Listing with an agent

Sale price: $250,000
Agent commission (5.5% here; it varies): −$13,750
Repairs before listing (example): −$10,000
State and county transfer tax (if you pay it): −$375
Your attorney, title charges and recording (example; they vary): −$2,500
Three months of carrying costs (example): −$4,500
You'd walk away with: $218,875

Comparing a cash offer

In this example, listing would leave you about $218,875 before your mortgage payoff. Compare that with your cash offer, less any closing costs you'd still pay.

The tax line assumes your county adds its share and your city adds none. Your numbers depend on your house, your loan, your county and who handles the closing. Want your real numbers? Enter your address above or call (984) 489-8269.

Curious what your Illinois house would bring in cash?

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Illinois's Largest Housing Markets, September 2026

Figures are for the county each city sits in.
City (county figures)	Median asking price	Median days on market
Rockford	$251,225	34 days
Peoria	$152,500	33 days
Springfield	$212,400	36 days

Cook County, IL

Cook County, IL housing market, September 2026
Median asking price	$350,000up 3% from a year earlier
Median days on market	35 daysdown 8% from a year earlier
Homes for sale	8,021down 12% from a year earlier

Homes listed in Cook County, IL sat a median 35 days on the market in September 2026, down from 38 a year earlier. The median asking price in Cook County, IL was $350,000 in September 2026, up 3% from a year earlier.

Source: Realtor.com Economic Research, September 2026. Asking prices of homes listed for sale, not sale prices.

Illinois Cash Home Buyers: Common Questions

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Call (984) 489-8269

How soon can you close on my Illinois house?

You choose the closing date once you accept our written offer. An estate that's still open, a tenant's lease or taxes you deferred can each add a step, so tell us about any of them on the call and we'll plan the date around it.

Do you buy houses all over Illinois?

Yes. We buy houses across Illinois, from Chicago and the suburbs to Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and the small towns downstate. Call us, tell us where the house is and what shape it's in, and we'll take it from there.

The house is in my name only. Does my spouse have to sign when I sell?

Usually, if it's your home. Illinois protects a homestead, up to $50,000 for one owner and $100,000 for two or more ⁴¹, and a release or sale of that homestead right isn't valid unless it's in writing and signed by the owner and their spouse, with some exceptions ⁴², so title companies usually ask a spouse to sign. Ask the attorney handling your closing before you sign anything on your own.

I'm over 65 and deferred my property taxes. Can I still sell my Illinois house?

Yes. The state's deferral program lets a homeowner 65 or older who has owned and lived in an Illinois home for at least 3 years, with household income up to $77,000 for tax year 2026 ($79,000 from 2027), put off up to $7,500 of property taxes a year, while program funds last ³²³. The deferred taxes and interest are a first lien on the house and are paid from the sale at closing. If the owner dies first, they are due from the estate within a year, unless a surviving spouse 55 or older signs on to keep the deferral ³. Tell us roughly what you've deferred so it's in the numbers from the start.

Can a small estate affidavit transfer my parent's Illinois house?

No. In Illinois a small estate affidavit transfers personal property, up to $150,000 not counting most registered vehicles, and only when no estate has been opened ⁴³. It doesn't pass a house. Unless the house passes some other way, such as a transfer on death instrument your parent recorded ²⁷, selling it usually means opening an estate in probate court. When everything the estate holds in Illinois, the house included, is worth $100,000 or less, the court can use a shorter summary administration ⁴⁴. An Illinois probate attorney can tell you which route your family is on.

Does an Illinois executor need a judge to approve selling the house?

Not in an independent administration. An independent representative can sell the estate's real estate, at a public or private sale, without a court order, but a house the will leaves to a specific person can't be sold without that person's written consent ⁴⁵. Ask the estate's attorney which kind of administration you have.

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