chicagotribune.com
New Cook Co. property tax assessment forms hit mail today
By Mary Ellen PodmolikTribune reporter
10:14 AM CDT, May 13, 2011
For each property, the new form will include a three-year history of estimated fair market value, Recorder of Deeds transactions like a mortgage refinance or payoff, two years of property tax payment history, a photo and property characteristics including the home's size and age. The notices also will include comparable properties in the neighborhood, their recent sale prices and the estimated market value per square foot of those properties.
While specific addresses of the comparable properties will not be provided, the property index numbers are, so the addresses can found on the assessor's web site.
Previously, the assessment notices contained individual property characteristics and the property's value.
The first communities to receive the new forms, which will be mailed Friday, are Riverside and River Forest and some taxpayers in Rogers Park, Evanston and Norwood Park.
Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios acknowledged that the inclusion of more data may lead to more appeals, but he stressed that homeowners do not need to hire an attorney to make their case for a lower assessment.
"If they feel they cannot get that price for their homes, they should file an appeal," he said. "We will do the research for them if they feel we are incorrect."
Each year, the Cook County Assessor's office reassesses about one-third of the almost 1.8 million parcels in the county. That means the data used to compute home value is several months old and in declining markets, comparable home values may have sunk further since the calculations.
Berrios, who was elected last fall, campaigned on a platform that included making the assessment notices more transparent to homeowners.
Since Norwood Park is a target area for the new assessments, how about one of these politicians or community groups putting together a question and answer session to clarify procedures, calculations, appeal process and use some examples to show us how the system works.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Cook County Assessor's Office:
ReplyDeletePublic Outreach
Speakers
Organizations, service clubs, community groups and churches may request a representative of the Cook County Assessor's Office to make a presentation before their membership.
Representatives are prepared to provide information on the assessment process and tax related topics. The Assessor's staff is also available to attend informational fairs.
This service is available through the Cook County Assessor's Office Speakers' Bureau. A speaker can be requested by calling (312) 603-3196 or contact us online.
I hope a condom comes with the bills because i'm sure we're going to get screwed
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteHow the system works - tax appeal attorneys make contributions to the powers that be, then their clients get their property taxes reduced. As an individual you can easily do the same leg work that the tax appeal attorneys do and if your lucky get a token reduction.
Uncle Buzzkill
I appealed our assessment a few years ago, and won. Didn't need an attorney. It was fairly simple.
ReplyDeleteDon't anyone even think of getting an attorney. I retained one a few years back and he did get my bill reduced by $200.00 but charged me $100.00. The next year I did it myself and got $300.00 off. He can't understand why I won't retain him any longer
ReplyDeleteWho cares, we are all moving out of Cook County in a few years? The system can not longer support theLink, WIC, and Section 8.
ReplyDeleteto 12:03am:
ReplyDeleteREAD your Cook County Property Tax Bill - It does not pay for "The Link, WIC or Section 8", as those are FEDERAL PROGRAMS paid for by federal tax dollars. If you don't want to pay for WIC, The Link, or Section 8, you need to move out of the UNITED STATES.