How to find out if a property in Waukegan, IL has a mortgage
A home loan in Illinois is usually secured by a mortgage, recorded with the Lake County Clerk, Recordings; it stays a lien of record until a satisfaction or release is recorded, which Illinois law requires within 30 days after payment of the debt (765 ILCS 905/4). A HeritageDeed report does this for one address in Waukegan: $49, usually within minutes, with the source of every finding.
About Waukegan: The county seat of Lake County is Waukegan. Lake County borders Cook and McHenry counties, and across the state line Allegan County, MI, Berrien County, MI, Kenosha County, WI and Van Buren County, MI. Lake County has about 270,618 housing units, 74.8% of the occupied ones owner-occupied. Last verified November 9, 2026.
Search a Waukegan property, $49
Step by step in Waukegan
- 1
Find each mortgage
Search the Lake County Clerk, Recordings index under each owner's name for mortgages recorded since they took title.
- 2
Match the satisfaction or release
For each one, look for a recorded satisfaction or release that refers to it by document number or book and page. Illinois gives the lender 30 days after payment of the debt (765 ILCS 905/4).
- 3
Treat the unmatched as open
A mortgage with no satisfaction or release of record is still a lien until the lender records one, even when the loan was paid.
- 4
Or order the report
A HeritageDeed report runs these searches for one Waukegan address and lists every finding with its source, $49, usually within minutes.
What Waukegan records show
Deeds, mortgages, releases and liens in Lake County are recorded with the County Clerk's recordings division.
What the report checks in Waukegan
- Deeds, mortgages, releases, assignments, liens and lis pendens indexed under the owner's name with the County Clerk
- Mortgages matched to releases by the index's cross-references; earlier owners' loans set apart
Questions
How long does a lender have to record a satisfaction or release in Illinois?
30 days after payment of the debt (765 ILCS 905/4). $200 per offense to the aggrieved party.
What does a HeritageDeed search in Waukegan not cover?
Documents are tied to the property by their legal description or address; any tied only by the owner's name are marked.
Is this title insurance?
No. It is a search of the public record for one Waukegan property. A lender closing a loan will still require a title insurance commitment from a licensed insurer.
More about Waukegan property records
Check the title of a Waukegan property
AI title search, $49 per report. Usually ready in about a minute. Full refund if we can't deliver.