Hi Angelo . . .   Thank you for your blogg-post. We have a similar situation here in Hawaii. Hey . . .   what's the current market condition in your "neck-of-the-woods?"  Our market is pretty flat with many Buyers merely sitting on the sidelines awaiting for better nargains and steeper listing price cuts.

Aloha

Jim 

Jim, you must be an early riser.  Noon hear in the Midwest and the market is soft.  We have the same situation with first time buyers waiting for news of a rebound in prices.  While I can not argue their position, I'm not sure how many realize the incentives that have been put in place by the stimulus package. 

With all that is negative, at least we have two baseball teams that are doing good.  Have a great day!

So then, due to market conditions, your house is worth less, but you're going to pay more? That's getting it both ways, Angelo.

Marty, Isn't this the American Way?  It seems that homeowners are ready for a tax protest.  Values, down, yet the communities continue to spend and agree to contracts that increase these costs which are then spread back to the homeowners.  In Illinois there are cases where salaries surge in the last years before retirement so the retiree receives a significant increase in the pension benefit which is then passed on to the taxpayers. 

Yeah, don't get me started on the pensions and the double dippers. Here in Jersey, they've raised it to an art form. There's a book out titled "The Soprano State" by Bob Ingle. I know you're not from Jersey but its a great read about blatant corruption and political favors. I encourage anyone, from any state, who pays taxes, to read it. 

Tony Soprano has nothing on these guys. At least he can go to jail or get bumped off.

Marty, Thanks for the suggestion, I'll read the book before I make my presentation to the Board of Review.  Our strategy has not been to reduce spending( a waste of our time ) rather it has been to out work the other homeowners in our tax district to get our assessment reduced relative to those who don't work as hard.  If you can not beat the system then shift the relative burden.  Have a great day!

Marty, Thanks for the suggestion that I read "The Soprano State". I had trouble locating it through the library system and had to drop a few bucks to buy it - maybe all the free copies on in the hands of our politicians. Sounds like New Jersey is the graduate school for crooks in the public sector. I'm sure that there are e-mails and phone calls between our politicians and those in NJ as they compare notes and offer each other suggestions. Bob Ingle may want to come to Chicago for the sequel. Have a great day!

Since 9/25 your blog is silent, the whole economy appears to be bust with a mortgage crisis  - I live in Zion and bought a house in 2006 just in time for the housing bubble.

Can anyone confirm that the CRA legislation Community Reinvestment Act in 1995 is the chief culprit that forced mortgage lenders to make higher risk loans to combact redlineing  and created demand in the housing market to take unhealthy risks?

Other than a certified appraisal what works on a protest?  I am representing 6 homeowners in a subdivision of 150

My protest hearing is Oct 15

Sorry forgot to leave my name

Doug, If you are having a formal hearing with the Board of Review, you must have already submitted the documentation that is the basis of your protest.  You may find that bringing other information will not be accepted for consideration.  If it is allowed, make sure that everything is property specific to prove that your Assessed Value is overstated. Making general statements that the values have decreased will not help  because any general decrease will keep your assessed value the same relative to other properties that have had the same %age decrease.  You have to make your Assessed Value drop relative to the others in the tax base.

Regarding the appraisal, realize that your assessed value is as of a particular date, not today.  If you pay for an appraisal, it should be consistent with the dates used by the assessor and it would have value if the appraiser could show reasons why the "sales comparables" used by the assessor - see website - are not the best choice.

Be property specific with anything that you argue - comparing to other homes in your subdivision that are comparable - access the assessors website, find your property using pin or address, allow the system to identify comparables and then do the grunt work.  See if there is any inconsistency in cost per square foot of living area, etc.  Also see if you can find another sub-division that is in your township in Lake county and do the same.  If you can find examples of homes that have lower Assessed Valuations per square foot, use these in your protest.  If you read through the protest process, I believe that this relates to "equity".  Essentially, similar homes should be assessed the same. 

Your record will show the exterior measurement of the home and the interior measurements of second floor and basements that are different than the measurements of the main floor.  As you look at your tax record, make sure there are no errors.  Verify square footage as well-   It could be that the model option that you purchased had a loft where the tax record shows a bedroom.

Finally, know how much time is allowed for your presentation.  If you are representing others, make sure you have a power of attorney and call the board of review to find out if your time will be multiplied by the number of homeowners you are representing.  Allocate a portion of your allotted time for Board questions and your responses.  Hope this helps.

I read your reply    Thank you for the detail explanation

I think I did a fair job of doing comparables as well as including an appraisal and a letter noting other information about the market conditions.  In 24 hours I will have some feedback  thanks again.  Given the recent Mortgage Crisis,

The one flaw I can see is when a developer controls house prices in a subdivision, there is a tendancy for appraisers to use new contruction prices only for comparables - I think there should be a law to include sales from an existing home closest to the subdivision in making the appraisal - if it brings down the appraisal - so be it and the homeowner would belly up a downpayment or not buy the house.   

In conclusion, not many individual can afford to pay someone to do all fhe research you are suggesting.