Distressed tax sold properties in cook county illinois who is the Owner??

[Mike Chubb]

ok my question is if the owner has abandon the property and has not paid taxes in years and some of the taxes have been sold in a tax sale by a tax buyer.BUT have not yet been deeded to the tax buyer/buyers does the owner still have claim to the property? Also if the owners have no interst in saving tis property can i buy the taxes,all the liens and encumbrances and then be the owner? or do i have to have the owners sign over the propertys to me?

[Mark Ainley]

The prior owner(Owner delinquent in the prop taxes) is the owner until the day the judge approves the tax deed which comes not less than 24 months after the original sale date.  Generally 26-28 months for a desirable property.  When it starts to get close to the time a tax lien holder can take over ownership thru the tax deed they will often times try to line up a buyer that will either buy the liens and finish the process or have it put under contract so they can get the tax deed and close within a few days.  

Most tax lien buyers look for an exit strategy in advance of taking ownership so if you have the ability to reach out you can work a deal with them.  If you don't know who it is you can go down to the county building 4th floor (same as city hall in Chicago) and request to redeem the taxes ($4 or $6) and they will give you a payoff sheet which has the tax lien holder on there which most of the time there is a number or you can google them up.  

We have purchased many properties from the tax lien holders in the past and recent years.