While the
downturn in the real estate market has possibly taken a chunk out
of your home’s value, it is unlikely that your tax assessment
has gone down.
During the boom, as your home gained in value, it made sense that your
assessment
would increase. Prices
have flat lined or
lowered in most areas so it doesn’t make sense anymore that
your taxes should
only go upwards. But what’s a homeowner
do to? Well
don’t expect the assessor to
give you any help!
Yes, the tax man
cometh! For those in my readership area of Schaumburg,
Elk Grove, Palatine and Hanover Township this
is your reassessment
year baby! So
what’s a girl to do you
say?
The good news is
that getting your tax
assessment lowered is possible.
With a little patience it is actually easy to
do. Here are a couple of tips:
Review your home assessment
for errors.
Find out how your district levies property
taxes - on 100% of the market value or some fraction of it - by calling
the
assessor’s office. Especially
at 70% or
80% of value, called fractional values, owners may not realize their
property
tax assessments are out of line. Next,
go to the assessor’s office or website to see the property
information that
lists the details of your home. Check
each item for mistakes, from the number of bathrooms to the number of
square feet.
Valuing properties is “a very inexact science” and
when it comes to the
assessors records I’m being terribly generous here! But when paper records were
transferred to
computers, many errors were made – or retained. If
there’s a mechanical error,
the assessor may offer a property tax reassessment on the spot.
Compare property
tax assessments for similar homes in your
neighborhood.
Pull the
addresses, then the tax numbers (PIN’s) for neighbors who
have
similar homes or
similar models in terms of age, style and features. If the assessments
on
similar properties are significantly lower – 10% or more
– you have a good case
based on uniformity.
Build a
case for reassessment. The
rules for property tax appeals vary from place to place, but no matter
where
you are you’ll need evidence. Property info and Web-page
printouts are helpful,
and photos can be especially useful if you’re comparing the
condition of your
home with others. Most
photos of selected homes are
available on the
assessors
website now. Consider getting an independent appraisal as well, but
check the
rules in your jurisdiction before laying out a couple hundred dollars
or more
to pay for one. If
you’ve had a recent
refinance from your mortgage company, they would have given you an
appraisal
and similar homes such as yours would have been used.
Check these homes and use these for your
appeal. The
assessor will not take the
appraisal but at least it will save you a little leg work by supplying
you with
the address and the tax numbers (PIN) of like-kind homes.
The number one mistake
that I find that my sellers/buyers/homeowners make is
not taking advantage of their homeowner’s exemption! This is an exemption that
gives you a tax
break because you are using your home as your primary residence and not
renting
it out. You receive
$5000 off of your
equalized assessed valuation of your home because you live there
– that’s
pretty great. BUT
– the assessor is just
not going to give it to you – that would just be too easy. In Cook County a
large and costly
production is made for all homeowners.
A
‘card’ or a ‘booklet’ has been
previously mailed to the owner and you must sign
and return either the postcard or the booklet before your exemption
will take
place. In the last
few years they have
carried over these exemptions but if you are a new homeowner/purchaser
you must
be sure that the previous owners filed for their exemption! This will save you hundreds of
dollars every
year in taxes! If
you say, naw too much
work to get that exemption thingy – please – take
down my address and mail me
the $400 to $800 that the county is taking from you!
I will be appreciative!
DuPage County Residents
– You will contact the Dupage Supervisor of
Assessments and things are much, much
easier for you. No
postcards or
booklets, you may call or visit the assessor and state your exemption. You also do not have to
re-sign any
ridiculous cards. They
seem to be at
least a little normal.
List
of Assessor “Buzz Words”
P.I.N.
– Property Index Number, think of it as your homes social
security
number. It will
never change.
Geographic Mapping
– AKA your property information at the assessor’s
website. Click
"Start Interactive Mapping" which will take you to begin your search.
Enter your PIN or your street
address. This will
start the Parcel
Search where you will find information on your home.
Equalization
Factor
- (their wording) a number determined each year by the Illinois Dept.
of Revenue to even out or "equalize" assessed values, by county, across
the state. It is also called the multiplier. No one
could
ever explain this to me well enough so I just call it the "guess tax
factor". That pretty much sums it up.
HELP
– there is no such word in their vocabulary.
When you ask for this, they roll around on
the floor in hysterical laughter.
Remember, patience is required, you are dealing with a
governmental
body.
Sense of
Humor –
see above comment.
Tylenol
– carry at least 2 with you at all times thruout the process. Keep the bottle within
easy reach.
Vodka
– see above comment.
Everyone loves a personal success
story so I have two to pass along!
Story #1 - The first was from a townhome that I owned in
Hoffman
Estates
many years ago. The property information sheet arrived one
day in the mail from Cook County that stated what
upgrades my home had. Nope – sorry no
basement Mr. Assessor. Nope – sorry no fireplace
in this place either. Ohhh look – the
square footage is from my neighbors Brighton Model not mine –
that’s just
swell. Went to the assessor immediately with
my floor plan and got things changed and lowered my tax bill.
Story #2
– New construction Bartlett,
first tax bill arrived in the mail and I almost fainted when it said we
had 3800+
square feet. My
first thought was, they
must be counting the front and back yard too!
Took another trusty floor plan down to the assessor and
found out that
the builder(Pulte) made the mistake reporting the information to the
county. Yeah sure,
thanks. Story did
have a happy ending because the initial
tax bill was $5200 and it was reduced to $3800.
It’s
never too late to do something about an unfair tax bill. The final 2007 bills will
arrive in the mail
soon and I’m sure that with this increase there is going to
be a lot of
screamin’ goin’ on.
This is just a
small sampling of
the suggestions that you might consider. Thank you for
reading
this short report, good luck and stay vigilant!
Lyn Sims at RE/MAX Suburban
(847)230-7324
Northwest
Suburban Chicago Homes in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove
Village, Roselle, Medinah, Itasca, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Hanover
Park, Bartlett, Streamwood, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles areas.
Home search website:
www.LynSims.net
Email: LynSims@remax.net
Cook
County Reassessment Schedule
Exemption
Application
Residential Appeal Form
Schaumburg
Township
Reassessment Notice of 24%
Hanover
Township
Reassessment Notice of 23%
|
How
To Calculate
|
|
Your
tax bill
|
| To calculate |
|
$100,000 |
Market Value 1 |
| your property |
|
X
.16 |
Residential Assessment Level (16%) 2 |
| tax bill, use |
|
$16,000 |
Assessment Valuation |
| the following |
|
X
2 |
Sample Equalization Factor 3 |
| example for a |
|
$32,000 |
Equalized Assessed Value |
| home with an |
|
- $5,000 |
Homeowner Exemption 4 |
| estimated |
|
$27,000 |
Adjusted Equalized Assessed Value |
| market value |
|
X
.10 |
Sample Tax Rate (10%) 5 |
| of $100,000. |
|
$2,700 |
Yearly Tax Bill |
1 Market Value – what your property could
sell for on the open market.
2 Assessment Level – the rate at which
property is assessed. Single family homes, condos, co-ops, apartment
buildings and mixed-use properties, six units and under, are assessed
at 16%.
3 Equalization Factor – a number
determined each year by the Illinois Department of Revenue to even out
or “equalize” assessed values, by county, across
the state. It is also called the multiplier.
4 Homeowner Exemption – the 7% expanded
exemption increased the exemption amount from a minimum of $5,000 in
Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) to a maximum of amount that changes with
each tax year. The amount of the exemption will vary based on the value
of the home and the amount of the assessment increase.
5 Tax Rate – the result of dividing the
spending request of a particular local government or school district by
the total equalized valuation of all properties in that area.
The tax rate can stay the same , increase or decrease when taxing
bodies request more money. Always review dollars levied, not just tax
rates. Actual tax rates vary across Cook County and are determined by
local government spending needs and requests.
Easiest
Strategy to lowering your property taxes©2008 Lyn Sims -
RealEstateConsumerInfo.com
All data and
information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. Lyn Sims makes no
representations as to
accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability or validity of any
information
on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or
delays in
information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from
it’s display or
use.
8/12/2008
- Info compiled from the Cook County Assessor, DuPage County Assessor.
As I go thru my email today the
familiar Lowe’s real estate newsletter comes into
view. 
When
you buy a house, you also 
block. (It’s better
to have the
smallest house in the best community).
It
may sound like a cliché, but 
TO YOUR NEXT HOME!
Schedules at www.metrarail.com - Milwaukee West Line link. Metra trains offer convenient daily service between Schaumburg and Elgin to the west, and downtown Chicago to the east.
I’m tired of the
media.
couldn’t
give a home away in parts of Texas.
home and
So despite what the
St. Coletta School (No Website Link)
If you are looking to sell your
coach home or townhome in Towne Place
Sales summary for the Surrey Woods Townhome community in Streamwood IL near 59 and Bode Rds. Very popular area surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserve with wonderfully maintained walking, jogging and bike paths. Not to mention the great old oak trees in the area. There is also a pond and play area that is maintained by the Streamwood Park District too. The area is comprised of private entry 2-story styling townhomes with either a 1 or 2 car garage. Some basements are available but rarely go on the market. Square footage is somewhere between 1100 to 1700 sq ft and prices between $190,000 to $275,000. Alot of great square footage for your money here!
Sales summary for the Wildberry Townhome community in Streamwood IL near Barrington and Bode Rds. Very popular area across the street from the Cook County Forest Preserve with wonderfully maintained walking, jogging and newly finished bike paths. The area is comprised of private entry 2-story or ranch styled townhomes with a 1 car garage. The association has an outdoor pool and clubhouse available for all homeowners. Wildberry is in the popular Schaumburg School District 54 and 211. Prices range from $159,900 to $230,000. Alot of great square footage for your money here! Two models have very popular "ranch" styling with no stairs for seniors.
ome units taking up to 134 days (yikes). This is up from the 2007 average of only 54 days. Average sales price is $194,733 for all 6 models.
Lyn Sims Re/Max Suburban 847-230-7324
Illinois Homebuyer Snapshot - Where are you?
buyer that did not use the internet to search for homes was 46 years old and saw a median of 7 homes. 
BRIAR POINTE TOWNHOME SALES IN SCHAUMBURG -
Built in 1996/1997 and located near Springinsguth and Irving Park Rds. Briar Pointe is surrounded by open areas, parks and nature sanctuaries. Popular area with the current residents because of it's close proximity to the Schaumburg Train Station (Miwaukee West) and the Alexian Field Minor League Baseball Stadium. Short drive to access the Elgin-O'Hare and then connection to 355 North/South and into Chicago. Briar Pointe recently received the "Best Maintained Landscape Award" for a multi-family development from the Village of Schaumburg in 2006.
Lyn Sims at RE/MAX Suburban (847)230-7324
Stream, Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett and St. Charles in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.
(Not to mention is just huuuurtsssssssss after awhile!)
So this is how the my market graphs work. Let's say that your pre-approved purchase price is in the $250,000 to $275,000 range and you would like to start looking for a single family home. There are currently 99 home selections in that range in both Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg OR
something more manageable! Interest rates are expected to be lowered once again which makes it even more affordable!
South Elgin, St. Charles.
Township Riders Initiative Program-"T.R.I.P"
Recycling Avenue is a new company in Wheeling formed to help "green the planet" by recycling small electronic items. Recycling Avenue was started by and is run by a group of physically challenged young adults who want to make a difference in their environment.
Lyn Sims at RE/MAX Suburban (847)230-7324 
