Governer Rauner Property Tax Freeze
It’s a regular Western showdown, at the Capitol, as Republicans and Democrats square off about Governor Rauner’s Property Tax Freeze.
Illinois’ state lawmakers reached a standstill after spending a recent Tuesday afternoon debating the finer points of Governor Rauner’s intended property tax freeze.
Governor Rauner, whose property tax freeze was created with the suburbs in mind, called the deliberations a “waste of time”, with the Democrats unable to produce an offer acceptable to Rauner’s mission.
This standstill threatens to freeze the local government, with the state being unable to access the local budget, which will begin on July 1, until an acceptable offer is reached.
The Democrats approved a budget that was still $3 billion more than the state currently has. Rauner has stated that he would debate filling the budget deficit with tax hikes, if Democrats were willing to discuss his proposed property tax freeze.
Rauner believes that local taxes are the problem, as he told the Daily Herald recently. Rauner feels that controlling property tax, and empowering local voters to do the same is one of the most important issues for the state of Illinois.
Despite the fact that Rauner’s plan is intended for the suburbs, suburban lawmakers are still balking at the intended freeze, saying it would hamstring their budgets. South Streator’s Superintendent Of Schools Ryan McGuckin spoke out against the effect the property tax freeze would have on the township’s budget. He claims the property freeze will be ineffectual. He also criticizes that it doesn’t allow for inflation. The fear is that with the cost of building maintenance and the pressure to provide new textbooks, the property tax freeze would be just another restriction.
Elgin Area School District U-46 CEO Tony Sanders stated that a property tax freeze would be devastating to his district’s budget. The inability to predict next year’s budget is making it next to impossible to plan for the next school year.
If the property tax freeze were to be passed now, according to Sanders, it’s too late to tell teachers and superintendents they don’t have the money to pay them next year.
Grayslake Fire Chief John Christian and Executive Director of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus David Bennett also spoke out at the Tuesday hearings, saying their sector of local government would also be adversely affected by the proposed tax freeze.
Not all Democrats are opposed to Governor Rauner’s property tax freeze. State Representative Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat, tried to pass a property tax freeze in the State House. Franks’ proposition allowed for local lawmakers to break through the tax freeze, if they felt they weren’t getting enough money. Franks’ proposal was also rejected.
“Don’t hide from the monster. It’s not going to go away,” Franks said to Republicans, urging them to vote for it.
House Leader Jim Durkin feels that property tax freezes aren’t the problem. The real problem is the budget that was passed last month, according to Durkin.
Lawmakers will be returning to the debate shortly. On July 1, the state will run out of authority to access its budget until this issue is resolved. Rauner has proposed a few stopgap measures, including potentially closing two youth prisons, possibly including those in St. Charles and Warrenville.
Also in line with his state tax reform policy, Rauner has proposed several revisions to help businesses, but most of those have already been shot down by Democrats.
Despite all the in-fighting, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan said that tax reforms would have to be mutual to be effective. Democrats will not be able to pass the necessary changes themselves. The only way for it to work is if the Democrats, Republicans, and the Governor cooperate.
In politics and finances, there are no easy answers. It should be interesting to see what happens when the Lawmakers return to deliberation!
To learn more about Illinois property tax law, contact a Chicago property tax attorney today!
Missed window to appeal at Assessor’s Office
With homeowners all over the country receiving their property tax bill recently, many people will be wondering how to appeal their property assessment. With appeal deadline popping up all over, at different times for different townships, many people will also be wondering what can be done if they missed the window to appeal at the office of the Assessor.
The short answer is: not much. In fact, missed deadlines are the second most common reason for tax appeals to be rejected, right behind not enough time to commit to handling an appeal yourself, and before not having evidence. A missed window to appeal the local office of the Assessor can sink your appeal case. The first piece of advice in how to deal with a missed deadline at this office would be: Don’t. The deadline to appeal the property tax should be in the right corner of your property assessment. If you can’t find it there, you should look up your county’s deadline online.
A good rule of thumb to follow is that the first stage of appeals is due within 30 days of receiving your property’s valuation.
The first step in filing a property tax appeal is, of course, noticing that there’s a problem. Property tax is determined by multiplying the value of your home or property by a set tax rate, depending on what kind of property it is.
Some common signs of property overvaluation are:
- The price of the home is much higher than other similar properties near your home.
- Damage – County assessment information does not always take into account the condition of a property when providing an assessment, due to the quantity of properties that need to be assessed. Thus, a burned out shack could cost you the same as your two bedroom home. Make sure to check the numbers!
- Wrong description of property – Your property been described the wrong way. Often this description will add more money to the listing price than what the home is worth
- The building is not in the right location
These are just a few things that can cause a property to be overvalued, warranting an appeal. Make sure to check your paperwork. After all, to err is human, and even the IRS is made up of humans.
If you happen to have missed the window to appeal at the office of the assessor, however, all hope is not lost. First of all, a property tax lawyer may be able to contest your assessment anyway, by proving missed exemptions or factual errors by the assessor.
If you feel you have a rock solid case to appeal your tax property, but missed the deadline, consider contacting a property tax lawyer today.
In rare cases, late protests may be considered if “good cause” may be proved, including:
A missed deadline from your local assessment office
- An emergency in your immediate family
- A medical emergency
- Catastrophes or acts of God, such as hurricanes, fire, flood, or tornados
These are very rare circumstances, and hard to prove, so don’t bank on it, and double check upcoming deadlines, to make sure your appeal gets every chance to be successful.
Regardless of whether you’re appealing a case yourself or having a property tax attorney dispute the property tax overvaluation, you’ll need ample evidence.
Make sure to have:
- Your home or property’s Property Identification Number (also found on your property tax bill, or else online)
- Assessed value of other homes of a similar size in your neighborhood
- Resale value of other homes of a similar size and condition
- Photographic evidence of the condition of the house. Photographic evidence is particularly useful in the case of proving the damage caused by fire, flood, or other natural disasters. It can also prove or disprove the existence of amenities that have been added or subtracted, which may influence the value of the home, such as a pool or deck
So you don’t find yourself with a missed window to appeal at the right offices, here are some upcoming appeal deadlines in and around the Chicagoland area.
Barrington – June 22, 2015
Palatine – July 6, 2015
Hyde Park – July 16, 2015
For more questions about property taxes, appeal, or other real estate legalities, contact us today and find out how we can help.
Summer time real estate market
Not only is summer a time for vacation, travel, cookouts, camping, and countless other activities, it also happens to be the busiest seasons for the real estate market. If you happen to be buying or selling a house or condo, you don’t want to let the stress disturb your other summer plans. You need to know how to avoid summertime real estate market stress.
Stay Cool: Some Summertime Stress-Relieving Tips
Stay Organized
Like anything in life, the less organized you are, the more stressful that activity becomes. If you’re going to be meeting with realtors, showing your home, visiting out of state, or any of the countless other activities surrounding moving, remember to use a calendar! Also schedule automated reminders and alerts for major deadlines. Find your deed, property records, income history, and all of the other minutiae you’ll need to have a stress-free move, and keep them all in a safe place.
Set Deadlines
Many people find deadlines to be motivating. If you’re moving because you want to, rather than because you have to, setting deadlines will help keep your eyes on the prize. They will also keep you motivated enough to complete the millions of tasks necessary to have a stress-free move. Be realistic with your deadlines, however, as being too hard on yourself, or missing deadlines, can be very discouraging and thus negatively affecting your productivity and focus.
Use Productivity Tools
We are living in the modern age, after all. A savvy homeowner will use every tool at their disposal, technological or otherwise. There are hundreds of house hunting and productivity apps, instant response systems, and time management tools. Use them. They can save you countless hours and potentially thousands of dollars. Try a few out and see what works for you and what doesn’t. It’s only helpful if it saves you time and stress. Don’t let learning new technology become just another item on your ‘To Do’ list.
Don’t Be Afraid To Stand Up For Yourself
If you’re moving, you’re going to both see a ton of houses or properties. You’ll be meeting with countless realtors, as well as having hordes of people coming to see your home, probably at the same time. You’re going to be fielding a lot of offers, both incoming and outgoing. While it is a natural tendency to want to please people, remember to look out for yourself as well. You can’t take every offer that comes your way. One useful tip would be to construct a “dream offer” – the ideal home in the perfect neighborhood at the exact price you’re comfortable paying. Having a clear vision will let you know what to shoot for. Don’t be afraid to say no, if the offer doesn’t suit your vision.
Stay Positive
Remember, summertime is a busy season for the real estate market. People are also tremendously busy with other parts of their lives as well. Chances are you’ll likely hear a lot of rejections, or get a lot of dead leads, or it might simply seem that absolutely everything is taken or twice the price it should be. A positive attitude will help you surmount these obstacles, and keep that hope for the dream offer alive. A positive attitude also translates to both potential buyers and sellers, giving realtors a better feeling about giving you the deal.
Ask For Help
Looking for a home involves an endless array of micro-tasks, spread out over the span of months. It takes patience, perseverance, a good attitude, proper organization, and a dash of luck. To make sure you can keep up with the marathon, involve other people in the house hunt. If you’re moving with others, break down the duties into tasks that best suit each individual. If someone’s better with the correspondence, let them handle the e-mails. Got a great phone voice? Maybe you should handle the phone calls.
Practicing these will surely teach you how to avoid summer real estate market stress. Stay cool, while things are getting hot!
Chicago properties are all being reassessed
If you are a homeowner living in one of Chicago’s eight townships, be prepared for change next year. Change in your property tax, that is, as Chicago properties are all being reassessed this year.
These reassessments occur every three years, rotating through different parts of the greater Chicago metropolitan area. It’s the City Of Chicago proper’s turn, this year.
Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios issued a press release, recently, discussing the intricacies of the reassessments. All of the city of Chicago will be reassessed, in 2015, with each of the eight townships receiving their new property valuations at different times. Rogers Park was the first to receive their new property assessments, with deadlines due on March 20th. Lake was the second, scheduled to go out April 8th. Any changes in the property taxes because of this year’s reassessment will be seen on the property tax bills of 2016.
Berrios went on to discuss some of the factors taken into account, during a property tax reassessment. The main factor in assessing a property’s value is the going rate for similar properties in your neighborhood since the last property reassessment. All reassessments are published in the local newspaper a couple of days after receiving your reassessment notice. The newspaper’s name and when it will be published are indicated on the notice. The listings are also available at your local library.
Some of those results are already starting to pour in, with the Rogers Park neighborhood receiving their assessment values. If Rogers Park is any indication, most of Chicago will be seeing an increase in property valuations this year. The assessed value of Rogers Park increased by 15.43% from 2014, going from $535,631,241 to $627,061,453 in 2015. This rate reflects the overall average for the entire township. Each township is broken down further into neighborhoods. Some of the neighborhoods in Rogers Park – such as Neighborhood 32, corresponding roughly from Howard Street between Rogers Avenue and Chicago’s northern border, rising by 21.03%.
This inflation is substantially higher than the usual average for the township. We tremble to think what might occur to some of the more affluent areas of the city.
Remember, property tax is not something that’s done to you, however, being more of a collaborative process. Due to the sheer volume of properties that need to be reassessed, the County only actually reassesses roughly one out of three properties in physical space. For the rest, they rely on aerial photographs, computer data, and previous years’ tax information to posit an assessment. Remote assessment can occasionally lead to gross overvaluation. Some common cases where this occurs are homes that have been damaged by fire, flood, or other natural disaster, or had significant improvements done, that might not have been accounted for by the Assessor.
These errors are corrected via an appeals process. Remember, 2015’s assessment values won’t be registered until 2016. Around July 1 of next year, remember to keep an eye on your property tax bill, and pay attention to any great fluctuations from previous years’ bills. Also, remember that there is a very strict deadline to appeal your property tax, so keep an eye for announcements on that, in the summer of 2016.
In the instance that you want to file an a property tax appeal, you’ll need to:
- Pay your property taxes
- Contact the County Assessor
- Complete the Assessment Appeal Application, which can be had here with instructions here
- File your Application with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
- Exchange of information
- Withdrawals/Stipulations
- Hearing notification
- Attend the hearing
- Further appeal rights. A decision by the Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board is final, but you may file an action in Superior Court. Contact the State Board of Equalization for more information.
To learn more about property tax appeals, reassessment, or other aspects of Chicago real estate law, let us help you today!
