The short answer? Probably not.
This is probably one of the most common questions I hear from home buyers in the Will County area. The reason for the question is due to the fairly high number of REO (bank owned) properties on the market. If you are a home buyer in this area, chances are more than good that you're going to view at least a few of these properties. Many are being offered at fire sale prices, which begs the question about the property taxes.
So why aren't the property taxes going down if prices are going down? In Will County, specifically, the assessor uses a three year study and is a year behind anyway. The assessed values for 2010 will be based on values from 2006, 2007 & 2008. 2006 was still a pretty good year around here. 2007 wasn't too bad until August. Additionally, the taxing bodies depend on the revenue to support various services such as fire & police protection, schools and libraries. They are operating under a budget that requires a certain amount of funds. If the amount of tax revenue suddenly decreased due to lower property taxes, they would have a problem. What can they do? They can adjust the tax rate to make up the shortage.
For many buyers, property taxes are something to be very mindful of. If your budget allows you to spend up to $130K and you have the good fortune to find a decent home for that price in an area of $200K homes, keep in mind that the property taxes are going to be in line with $200K homes, not $120K homes. Sometimes the amount of property tax can substantially impact your monthly payment.
If you are in Will County IL and would like more information about how property taxes are calculated and other fun stuff, I recommend visiting the Will County Assessor's site. Now to thank you for taking the time to read this, I'm leaving you with this cheerful ditty about taxes from the Fab Four. Enjoy!
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