Abstract Report Details and Pricing
An Illinois Abstract Service product, see what is included.
About
Providing quick and economical Abstract Reports throughout Illinois. An Abstract Report or commonly called an Ownership Report, or Lien report, lists adverse matters affecting title from the current owner forward.
Turn around is roughly one week from the time an order is placed the parcel researched and report written.
Current service areas include: Cook County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, Kane County, Kendall County, Lake County, Madison County, McHenry County, St. Clair County, Will County, Winnebago County
Included
PDF Report Emailed
- Legal description
- PIN
- Current record owner
- Current tax status
- Any open liens, mortgages or other adverse items of record
- Name search on parties in title
- Effective date
Document copies affecting title included in the report as a digital download.
Pricing
Ownership/Lien Report, Residential
$150 Residential
(1st parcel and PIN)
+ $150 for any additional Residential parcels or PINs
Ownership/ Lien Report, Commercial
$250 Commercial
(1st parcel and PIN)
+ $250 for any additional Commercial parcels or PINs
How to order?
Orders can be placed easily with the Place an Order button on the right side. Questions can be emailed to either
Detailed Ownership Abstract Report Process
More detail on the report fundamentals
The following components are necessary in a detailed Ownership Abstract Report
Basic Property Information
Current Owner Vesting
- Open Matters, liens, adverse
- Tax Search
- Name Search
Basic property information
When starting due diligence you should consider - what is the basic property information? This question will determine the scope of your research. To keep this simple, a minimum standard of information in this area would be: An Effective Date and common address and/or Property Identification Number (PIN). What is an Effective Date? Read more about Abstracting - with the Abstractor College. Full list of County Resources can be found here.
Current Owner Vesting
Search online or at the County Recorder Office for the land records of the property in question to identify the current vested owner. Each County Recorder Office is set up a little bit differently, with different resources and research tools.
The most common methods to search are PIN based and by Grantor/Grantee. Once you find your chain online, or at the County Office, you need to search from the last Warranty Deed, or deed with transfer stamps and preferably Title Insurance markings (example: Chicago Title, Stewart, Old Republic).
The reasoning for this is if the Title Company has insured the title prior to the Warranty Deed as being clear and defects would have been corrected by the time of sale, otherwise the current owner of the property may have a potential claim against the Title Company. At this time, you should check the deed over and take note of the legal description of your deed.
The legal must be a portion, or all, of the land of your subject property. This can be identified when comparing the legal description in the deed with the County Tax Map. Now that the ensured Warranty Deed has been identified, continue looking at the chain of title to see if other deeds are present, such as a Quit Claim Deed, or maybe a Probate Administrative Deed, or something else. You will want to tie the grantors and grantees together and make sure that the vesting chains forward completely, and do not leave out any interest in the land.
Open Liens, Mortgages, Adverse Matters
While examining the ownership vesting, look from the last Warranty Deed going forward to identify open liens, mortgages and adverse matters. Adverse matters might include; leases, UCC Financing, or Mechanic Liens, or Judgements, or even Agreements.
If you see items such as a release, or a termination, you should exclude the corresponding recorded document that it references. The end result should be a list of active documents affecting title. These documents should then be looked over to make sure a misposting did not take place through comparing the legal descriptions in the recorded documentation, as well as all parties involved.
At this point, it is best to purchase the copies of the documents pertaining to the affected area, if you have not done so already. As a general rule, the less open matters, the more clear the title is. Thus, the less risk for an investor or potential purchaser. A lay person should still have a qualified real estate attorney review subsequent documentation, but this exercise will allow you to be an informed consumer.
Tax Search
When considering real estate Ownership Abstract Reports, both current year and prior years taxes need to be investigated. It is vital that you understand taxes accurately. Taxes can be purchased by tax buyers or sold by tax sale.
Name Search
Much like the land search, the name search on the current owners (and their entities) can be complex. However, it is critical to identify any open judgments or litigation. A set of questions needs to be asked and answered. In no particular order, these are: 1) Is there a Federal Tax Lien? 2) What about UCC? 3) Is there a State Tax Lien? 4) Is there current litigation?
Our Covered Counties
Continue reading below sections to learn a little bit more about each County we cover.
- Cook
- Dekalb
- DuPage
- Kane
- Kendall
- Lake
- Madison
- McHenry
- St. Clair
- Will
- Winnebago
Cook County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The Cook County Recorder, can be searched online with images through 1986 for free. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward. For pre-1986 records, you can visit the Cook County Recorder office downtown and search as well as request document copies. The County Recorder should also have the coverage or effective date which will tell you how recent the indexing is for the County.
Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the Cook County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for Cook County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
DeKalb County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The DeKalb County Recorder, can be searched online for free with some limitations. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward. The County Recorder should also have the coverage or effective date which will tell you how recent the indexing is for the County.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the DeKalb County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for DeKalb County.
It is vital that you understand taxes accurately. Sold taxes will appear “paid by the County”, when in fact a tax buyer has bought them and will move to perfect the tax lien as soon as possible and take possession.Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
DuPage County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The DuPage County Recorder, can be searched online with images for free. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward. The County Recorder should also have the coverage or effective date which will tell you how recent the indexing is for the County.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the DuPage County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for DuPage County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
Kane County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The Kane County Recorder, can be searched online for free. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward. The County Recorder should also have the coverage or effective date which will tell you how recent the indexing is for the County.
Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the Kane County Treasurer. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for Kane County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
Kendall County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The Kendall County Recorder, can be searched online with for free. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward. The County Recorder should also have the coverage or effective date which will tell you how recent the indexing is for the County.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the Kendall County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for Kendall County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
Lake County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The Lake County Recorder, can be searched online for free. The County Recorder should also have the coverage or effective date which will tell you how recent the indexing is for the County.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the Lake County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for Lake County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
Madison County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The Madison County Recorder, can be searched online with images. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the Madison County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for Madison County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
McHenry County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The McHenry County Recorder, can be searched online with images. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the McHenry County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for McHenry County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.
St. Clair County
Illinois Abstract Service Covered County
Land
The St. Clair County Recorder, can be searched online with images. You will need to search back to the last Warranty Deed with Title Insurance stamps and comb forward.
If your PIN number is unknown, use the assessor and GIS site to locate your PIN number as well as decipher your legal description.Taxes
A tax search must be completed at the McHenry County Treasurer/Clerk. A current tax year search can be completed through the Treasurer website. A more advanced multi year search can also be done online for St. Clair County.
Name
Name searches are to identify personal and business liens or judgments. Name searches on all parties in title from the last Warranty Deed forward should be ran for good measure. Look at the local County court system docket search, as well as the State Tax lien search. As a bonus feature, the Illinois State Tax Lien Search also will identify any Federal Tax Liens. In addition, running a PACER search will be a good bankruptcy check.