SOLD · Deeds recorded January 2026

17118 Magnolia Drive, Hazel Crest, Illinois

Cook County tax-deed estate case study · case 2025COTD002805

Buyer all-in

~$104,243

approximately, per the agreement and county records

Projected ARV

$150,000

per the agreement

Price to the family

$60,000

contract price, per Cook County recorder filings

Case type

Tax deed

per Cook County case 2025COTD002805

How this deal closed

An estate at risk of total loss to a tax deed, resolved clean

This was an estate property. The owner of record had passed, and the home carried delinquent taxes of $34,242.93 per the county petition, an active Cook County tax-deed case, an old recorded mortgage, and a village lien. The interest was held by three heirs spread across North Carolina and Michigan. Left alone, the family stood to lose the house to the tax-deed process. Five steps moved it to a closed, compensated, village-compliant transfer.

Negotiate

We opened conversations with all three out-of-state heirs and underwrote against the contract's projected ARV. The family had no practical path to clear the tax debt or navigate the court case from out of state.

The goal was a structure where the family walked away paid rather than wiped out, the tax obligation was assumed by the buyer, and the buyer received marketable title. We signed at $60,000 as-is, with no earnest money burden on the family, per Cook County recorder filings.

Redeem the taxes

The county petition listed delinquent taxes of $34,242.93 against the property, per the county petition. Any clean transfer required that tax exposure to be resolved.

Under the agreement, the buyer assumed the delinquent and current taxes rather than leaving the family to carry them. That removed the tax exposure that had put the home into the tax-deed pipeline.

Litigate in court

The matter ran through Cook County as case 2025COTD002805, a tax-deed proceeding filed July 2025. Rather than let the tax deed extinguish the family's interest, we resolved the file through the sale.

Because the owner of record was deceased, heirship had to be established on the record. That was documented with three recorded affidavits, so the court process produced a result the buyer's title could rely on. The case was dismissed February 18, 2026 after the sale, per Cook County recorder filings.

Underwrite and sign the contract

We underwrote against the contract's projected ARV of $150,000, per the agreement, and the $34,242.93 in delinquent taxes, per the county petition. The purchase agreement was executed at $60,000 as-is, per Cook County recorder filings.

The contract was assigned to the end buyer for a $10,000 assignment fee, per the agreement, who took on the tax obligation as part of the all-in cost.

CMA and sale to the buyer

Against the contract's projected ARV of $150,000, per the agreement, the buyer's all-in came to approximately $104,243: the $60,000 price, the $10,000 assignment fee, and the $34,242.93 in petition taxes, per Cook County recorder filings and the county petition.

The village lien was released and three warranty deeds were recorded January 2, 2026, per Cook County recorder filings. The home returned to productive use instead of sitting in tax-deed limbo.

The numbers

Every figure traces to a public record or the agreement

No figure on this page comes from memory. Each carries its source: Cook County recorder filings, the county petition, or the agreement. Third-party estimates ranged materially higher; the conservative contract figure governs here.

Contract price to the family

$60,000

Paid to the three heirs for the home, as-is, with no earnest money burden.per Cook County recorder filings

Assignment fee

$10,000

Fee to assign the contract to the end buyer.per the agreement

Petition taxes assumed by buyer

$34,242.93

Delinquent taxes the buyer assumed, removing the tax-deed exposure.per the county petition

Projected ARV

$150,000

After-repair value provision in the contract.per the agreement

Buyer all-in

approximately $104,243

The $60,000 price, the $10,000 assignment fee, and the $34,242.93 in petition taxes combined.per Cook County recorder filings, the agreement, and the county petition

Buyer spread

approximately $45,757 before repair costs

The $150,000 projected ARV less the approximately $104,243 all-in. Repairs are not quantified here, so this is stated before repair costs.per the agreement and county records

Before and concept

The home as found, and one direction for the refresh

The left image is the property as found in public Street View imagery. The right image is an illustrative concept only, not a photograph of the property.

17118 Magnolia Drive, Hazel Crest, front exterior as found in public Street View imagery — Exterior as found. Google Street View imagery, July 2024. © Google

Concept rendering of a refreshed exterior for 17118 Magnolia Drive, illustrative only — Concept rendering. Illustrative only, not a photograph of the property.

Everyone left better off

Three parties, three outcomes

A tax deed left to run extinguishes the owner's interest and leaves a vacant file. This estate closed differently.

The family

Three out-of-state heirs shared the $60,000 contract price, per Cook County recorder filings.
Walked away from the $34,242.93 tax debt and the court case instead of carrying them, per the county petition.
Avoided total loss of the estate to the tax deed under case 2025COTD002805.

The buyer

Acquired at approximately $104,243 all-in against a $150,000 projected ARV, a roughly $45,757 spread before repair costs.
Took title supported by three recorded heirship affidavits and a released village lien.
Closed with warranty deeds recorded January 2, 2026, per Cook County recorder filings.

The neighborhood

An at-risk estate returned to productive use.
Delinquent taxes assumed and the village lien released through the closing.
A village-compliant transfer completed on the property.

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