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!