Do you remember the old sesame street song "One of these is not like the other"?  I think that song directly applies to your home value and your assessed property taxes these days.  Every day we work with new and existing clients and one of the items we review is their property taxes. 

In most cases we see increases each year in your assessed value and property tax.  Doesn't this seem counter intuitive?  We have experienced three solid years of declining property values and yet your property taxes are going up? 

The good news is that with you do have options.  I have spoken to many area tax assessors and appealing your property tax assessment is not as daunting as you may think.  In Illinois more than 50% of people who appeal have been successful.  Typically you need not go thru the official appeal process at all. 

So what do you do if you think your taxes are too high?  Start by researching your market.  In order to be successful in appealing your property tax you need to prove that either your assessment is wrong in terms of what they are assessing your home for.  Examples of errors that can be corrected is if they have assessed your home as 3400 sq ft and it's only 2800 st ft.  These errors are far less common.

Where you will most likely be more successful in demonstrating that your home is worth less than the assessed value based upon market conditions.  In order to be successful you need to demonstrate that other homes in your market have sold for less than assessed values.  This works when you are able to demonstrate market observed conditions (sales) of area homes which are comparable to your home.  You wont be successful unless you are able to find comparable homes to use as a baseline.

Lets me create an example for you.  Lets assume your home was built in 2000, is 3000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, 3 car garage 2 story, average construction.  Now lets say your home is assessed at $450,000.  If you are able to provide your assessor with sale records of other homes that are comparable in your market that sold for $350,000 you have a reasonable argument.  If the homes that have sold are a little larger, smaller, newer or older, you can factor that into your case and are still allowed to submit this information. 

One important note is that the homes you use to illustrate your case must have sold.  Your assessor typically wont consider listed homes that may be identical to yours in every way as supporting information until they have sold.  Its not that difficult to take on the "man" in this case and win.  Speaking of the "man", the Kane County Board of Review will teach you if and how you can contest your property taxes.  The exerpt below is from the BOR and they will be offering you free classes to learn the process and help you understand if you have a reasonable case to move forward. 

It's been three brutal years in the real estate market so if this can help you improve your cashflow good luck.

Kane County Board of Review Offers Property Tax Clinics

The Kane County Board of Review will offer eight Property Tax Clinics for Kane County taxpayers this fall. The clinics will:

· Help taxpayers understand how property taxes work, including an explanation of recent changes in the law.

· Dispel myths about taxes and assessments.

· Explain the appeal process, and provide the necessary forms and rules for filing appeals.

· Provide an opportunity for taxpayers to make sure they have all homestead exemptions to which they are entitled.

The clinics will also include information from the Kane County Board's Help for Homeowners initiative.
The clinics will be held on the following dates:

· Tuesday, October 7

· Tuesday, October 21

· Wednesday, November 5

· Tuesday, November 18

· Tuesday, December 2

· Tuesday, December 16

All clinics will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be held in the Auditorium of Building A of the Kane County Government Center, 719 South Batavia Avenue in Geneva, Illinois.

The clinic is not a forum to discuss any specific individual assessment; these questions are best directed to the Assessor of the Township in which the property is located.

Both taxpayers and practitioners (attorneys, appraisers, brokers, etc.) are welcome to attend. For more information, call the Board of Review office at (630) 208-3818