Will County stretches from older neighborhoods in Joliet to new subdivisions and open farmland, and the rules that apply to a house depend on where in the county it sits. This guide sorts out who handles back taxes, building problems and court cases, and where a sale to a private buyer fits.
Fair Value Investments is a private real-estate investor buying for our own account. We are not a broker, lender, attorney, or government agency, and we charge no fee to make an offer.
The county seat is Joliet. The Will County Courthouse, where the 12th Judicial Circuit Court sits, is at 100 W. Jefferson Street downtown. The Will County Recorder of Deeds has its office in downtown Joliet as well, at Cass and Scott Streets, and the Treasurer and the County Clerk are county offices based there too.
The Will County Treasurer issues and collects property tax bills and holds the county's annual tax sales. On its delinquent taxes page, the county defines "back taxes" plainly: taxes that were not paid during the levy year and were then sold at the Annual Tax Sale.
The rule worth remembering comes from the same page. Once taxes are sold, the Will County Clerk Tax Redemption Department is the only office where they can be redeemed, meaning paid off. The Treasurer can no longer take that payment. The Clerk's site has a lookup for sold taxes and lists of parcels sold at each tax sale.
The Treasurer's Office also administers a Senior Citizen Tax Deferral Program. Eligibility is set by state rules and checked by that office, so ask the Treasurer directly whether it fits your situation before assuming it does or does not.
Property values are handled by township assessors and the Will County Supervisor of Assessments, and value disputes go to the county Board of Review. A lower assessment can shrink future bills, but it does not change what was already billed and left unpaid.
In Joliet, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Plainfield and the county's other cities and villages, building and property maintenance codes are enforced by the municipality. Each has its own inspectors, permits and, in many cases, its own requirements when a property changes hands, so call the town before assuming anything.
Outside those limits, the county's Land Use Department takes over. Its Development Services Division handles building permits under the codes the county has adopted, and a separate Administration and Enforcement Division handles enforcement. A rural Will County property with an unpermitted addition answers to that department, not to a village.
Foreclosure in Illinois is a lawsuit, and in Will County it is filed in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court at the courthouse on Jefferson Street. The Circuit Clerk of Will County maintains the court file. A homeowner who is served has the right to respond in court, and the case moves through a judgment, a sale conducted by the sheriff or another officer the court names, and a judge's confirmation of that sale.
Each of those stages carries its own dates and choices, and they are specific to your case. A HUD-approved housing counselor, whose help is free, and an attorney are the right people to explain them. The counselor line is in the notice at the bottom of this page, and the federal counselor search lists approved agencies by location.
The Will County Recorder of Deeds keeps every recorded deed, mortgage, release and lien, going back to the county's founding. When you sell, the title company searches those records, and after closing it records the new deed there. If a lien shows up that you did not expect, the recorded document itself will name who filed it.
Fair Value Investments buys property in its current condition, occupied or vacant, in town or out in the county. The process: you tell us about the property, we give you a cash offer with our reasoning, and you decide. If you accept, the title company pays off the mortgage, the redemption amount for any sold taxes and any recorded liens from the proceeds at closing, and the balance goes to you.
A private sale trades some price for certainty and no repairs. When a listing with a licensed agent would clearly net more, we will tell you, and our pricing explainer shows the comparison line by line. See also back property taxes, the foreclosure page and houses with code violations.
No. According to the county, the Will County Clerk Tax Redemption Department is the only office where sold taxes can be redeemed.
The 12th Judicial Circuit Court, at the Will County Courthouse, 100 W. Jefferson Street in Joliet.
The Will County Land Use Department, through its Development Services Division for permits and its Administration and Enforcement Division.
Yes. We look at houses anywhere in Will County, including unincorporated areas, in whatever condition they are in.
The county runs the tax sale, the deed records and the courts. The building code, the transfer stamp and the final water bill are set by the village, and they are different in every one.
No repairs, no fee, no obligation. See the number, then decide.