Information on Chicago and Cook County Research Websites

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Information on Chicago and Cook County Research Websites

Frank S.
Specialist · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 870 posts · 345 votes

Hi all, 

I hope this helps neophytes like me to facilitate the (required) research when buying properties in Chicago.

It helps you know who you are dealing with.  I found this info through pure elbow grease. 

Find the Deal

Redfin.com is fine, but I like realtor.com because it provides previous asking prices.

https://www.redfin.com/

http://www.realtor.com/

You can also use a great agent.

Cook County Property Search

http://www.cookcountypropertyinfo.com/Pages/PIN-Se...

Here you can fine a summary of the property, listed owner, taxes, who owns it, taxes, exceptions, deed info, etc. 

Deed Research

http://cookrecorder.com/search-our-records/

There is good info here. It will let you know who owns the property and sometimes how much they paid for it. You can actually see scanned documents and signatures.

LLC and Corporation Information

If the property is owned by an LLC or corporation. You can find own if the listing agent is related to the corporation by using a key word here.

https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/bus...

Chicago Code Permit and Violation History

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/p...

Here you can figure out if they pulled permits or if they have violations.  You can use this for negotiations or to run away as fast as you can. 

What other websites can you recommend ? 

Best of luck, 

Frank

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Most Popular Reply

Matthew Olszak
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y

Frank's list is solid, just a few to add...

Cook County Court Case Lookup: 

http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/?section=CAS...
With 'Civil' case type, 'Defendant' bubble, put the property address # and street name w/o direction (e.g. 121 Lasalle) in the Name field. It will show any active cases of the city vs. the property for things like building code violation fines, demo court, and super-past-due water bills. Most of the time you'll be able to see the amount demanded by the city.

With 'Chancery', 'Defendant' bubble, put the property owner's name backwards (Madigan Mike). It should bring up their foreclosure case.

NOTE: If you are a fast typer and hit enter like me, it won't show results because it will hit enter for the case # and not name. You have to actually click the button. I've looked up hundreds of cases and still hit the darn enter key. Come on Dorothy Brown!

http://12.218.239.52/V2/COUNTY/

Search by PIN to find tax deed proceedings for a property.

Cook County Delinquent Taxes

http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/tsd/delinquenttaxse...

Lookup redemption and tax sale information. This should ONLY be used as a primer to ordering the info from the clerk's office though.

Bankruptcy Court Info:

https://pcl.uscourts.gov/search

Search for federal cases and bankruptcy case info of owners. There is a cost per page and search but it is waived if under a certain total per quarter (I think somthing like $20 or $40).

Chicago Permit Application History

http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/buildingpermit/se...

Similar to what Frank listed above with more details.

Foreclosure Auction Schedule and History

When you look at the case history in the link above and see. "JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE ENTERED (CASE IS PENDING)", foreclosure has been ordered and the owner is in the redemption period. If the next action is "NOTICE FILED" and the 'Participant' is the bank, the auction has likely been scheduled. Chances are, Judicial Sales Corp will be running the auction. You can lookup the previous 90 days' results and next 90 days' schedule here: http://tjsc.com/Schedule.aspx . If its not on there, it could be with another company or the sheriff, but they are likely the ones.

Current Zoning/GIS Map

https://gisapps.cityofchicago.org/zoning/viewframe...

Lookup a property's current zoning. Its also useful to lookup a pin based on map location and see how larger properties are split into multiple pins.

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11 Replies

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  • James Paine
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 136 posts · 62 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Frank S.:

    Hi all, 

    I hope this helps neophytes like me to facilitate the (required) research when buying properties in Chicago.

    It helps you know who you are dealing with.  I found this info through pure elbow grease. 

    Find the Deal

    Redfin.com is fine, but I like realtor.com because it provides previous asking prices.

    https://www.redfin.com/

    http://www.realtor.com/

    You can also use a great agent.

    Cook County Property Search

    http://www.cookcountypropertyinfo.com/Pages/PIN-Se...

    Here you can fine a summary of the property, listed owner, taxes, who owns it, taxes, exceptions, deed info, etc. 

    Deed Research

    http://cookrecorder.com/search-our-records/

    There is good info here. It will let you know who owns the property and sometimes how much they paid for it. You can actually see scanned documents and signatures.

    LLC and Corporation Information

    If the property is owned by an LLC or corporation. You can find own if the listing agent is related to the corporation by using a key word here.

    https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/bus...

    Chicago Code Permit and Violation History

    http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/p...

    Here you can figure out if they pulled permits or if they have violations.  You can use this for negotiations or to run away as fast as you can. 

    What other websites can you recommend ? 

    Best of luck, 

    Frank

     Frank! - Great work here.  Thanks for the resources! 

    0Reply
  • Frank S.
    OP
    Specialist · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 870 posts · 345 votes
    10y

    @James Paine - 

    You are welcome.   

    The LLC/ Corporation info is very useful to unveil realtors selling their investment properties. It helps remove the drama. I faced this today on a possible deal, this motivated me to post.

    I'll update as I find more tools. 

    0Reply
  • Matthew Olszak
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    Frank's list is solid, just a few to add...

    Cook County Court Case Lookup: 

    http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/?section=CAS...
    With 'Civil' case type, 'Defendant' bubble, put the property address # and street name w/o direction (e.g. 121 Lasalle) in the Name field. It will show any active cases of the city vs. the property for things like building code violation fines, demo court, and super-past-due water bills. Most of the time you'll be able to see the amount demanded by the city.

    With 'Chancery', 'Defendant' bubble, put the property owner's name backwards (Madigan Mike). It should bring up their foreclosure case.

    NOTE: If you are a fast typer and hit enter like me, it won't show results because it will hit enter for the case # and not name. You have to actually click the button. I've looked up hundreds of cases and still hit the darn enter key. Come on Dorothy Brown!

    http://12.218.239.52/V2/COUNTY/

    Search by PIN to find tax deed proceedings for a property.

    Cook County Delinquent Taxes

    http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/tsd/delinquenttaxse...

    Lookup redemption and tax sale information. This should ONLY be used as a primer to ordering the info from the clerk's office though.

    Bankruptcy Court Info:

    https://pcl.uscourts.gov/search

    Search for federal cases and bankruptcy case info of owners. There is a cost per page and search but it is waived if under a certain total per quarter (I think somthing like $20 or $40).

    Chicago Permit Application History

    http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/buildingpermit/se...

    Similar to what Frank listed above with more details.

    Foreclosure Auction Schedule and History

    When you look at the case history in the link above and see. "JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE ENTERED (CASE IS PENDING)", foreclosure has been ordered and the owner is in the redemption period. If the next action is "NOTICE FILED" and the 'Participant' is the bank, the auction has likely been scheduled. Chances are, Judicial Sales Corp will be running the auction. You can lookup the previous 90 days' results and next 90 days' schedule here: http://tjsc.com/Schedule.aspx . If its not on there, it could be with another company or the sheriff, but they are likely the ones.

    Current Zoning/GIS Map

    https://gisapps.cityofchicago.org/zoning/viewframe...

    Lookup a property's current zoning. Its also useful to lookup a pin based on map location and see how larger properties are split into multiple pins.

    3Reply
  • Frank S.
    OP
    Specialist · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 870 posts · 345 votes
    10y

    Once again, @Matthew Olszak comes to the rescue!  Thanks so much for the info.

    I think this can save tons of time to investors willing to do some homework! 

    Best of luck, 

    Frank

    0Reply
  • Courtland Stansberry
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 31 posts · 7 votes
    10y

    Thanks for sharing!

    0Reply
  • John Carr
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 19 posts · 3 votes
    10y

    @Matthew Olszak

    Just for the sake of clarity, if a property is listed on the Judicial Sales Corp. website does that mean the owner's redemption period has passed and he/she no longer has the capability to stop the sale? Or I guess a more specific question: once a judgment of foreclosure is entered on the property and the 3-month redemption period begins, is THAT when the property is listed on the TJSC list, or is it only AFTER that period has passed that it is listed? 

    I see certain properties' statuses on the auction list as "cancelled" and was wondering if that meant the owner was able to pull the property back...

    0Reply
  • Matthew Olszak
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    @John Carr

    If the property is listed on TJSC, it just means the auction has been scheduled - that'll usually happen within the 3-month redemption period. The actual auction date will be after the redemption period has ended, like the day after. It can be cancelled for a number of reasons, and if you look up the case with the circuit court you may be able to tell why. 

    0Reply
  • Matthew Olszak
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    Also another useful page:

    http://311request.cityofchicago.org/

    Search by the address of a target property and you can see the 311 log of requests the city has received. You can sometimes get better info on the conditions found that caused a violation and get a good idea on how 'vocal' the tenants are with the city.

    0Reply
  • John Carr
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 19 posts · 3 votes
    10y

    @Matthew Olszak

    Thanks for the response, and the clarification. The resources that you and @Frank S. have provided have been very helpful! (Although I now find myself falling into the rabbit hole of Chicago property - my wife thanks you both also.)

    0Reply
  • Nick Patterson
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 386 posts · 218 votes
    10y

    I always like www.CCRD.info

    To look up recorded liens, mortgages, etc..

    0Reply
  • Adina McCollough
    Real Estate Investor · Gary, IN · Member since 2016 · 50 posts · 4 votes
    9y
    These resources are very helpful thank you all for posting!
    0Reply
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