The Cook County Assessor’s office says the median assessed value of single family homes in Evanston dropped 7.8 percent in the just-released triennial reassessment.
But the median value of condominiums rose 5.8 percent
Property owners have until March 25 to file appeals of their assessments, which were mailed late last week.
The assessment notices show values that will be the basis of second-installment tax bills due in the summer of 2014.
Information on comparable home values and on filing appeals is available on the county assessor’s website.
The Evanston Township Assessor’s office offers free assistance to taxpayers in filing appeals. To make an appointment, call 847-332-2465.
In addition, a number of local attorneys and tax consultant firms offer to file appeals for taxpayers for a fee.
Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, County Assessor Joseph Berrios and Township Assessor Bonnie Wilson will hold a property tax seminar on Thursday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the Parasol Room at the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
More subsidies for the R1 crowd
So condo owners will pay a larger share of taxes, compared to single-family homes.
How is this justified? Is the condo market really strong, while the single family home market is weaker?
It sounds more like the tax burden is being shifted away from the single home owners, at the expense of the condo owners and renters.
Don’t know whether to laugh or cry
The assessed value of my Evanston condo DROPPED 12.5%.
Property Tax shift
The shift of property tax dollars to residential properties is caused by vacancy rates of commercial property. Commercial property tax payers don't get a full assessed value applied to their property when it isn't fully occupied. This therefore shifts dollars paid to residential properties. ANY reduction in taxable value of Evanston properties causes a tax rate increase for every Evanston property tax payer. The 2013 elimination of the expanded Homeowners Exemption, along with its counterpart the Long Time Occupant exemption will see an increase of dollars paid by residential property owner as well by reducing the dollar amount of their Homeowner exemption.
The bottom line for residential property owners is to reduce your assessment as low as possible is by appealing to the County Assessor by March 25th and later this summer to the Cook County Board of Review in order to pay only your fair share of 2013 property taxes the summer of 2014 on the second installment of 2013.
Condo property tax
I live in a 6-flat condo building and went to the assessor's office to protest my new assessed value. The lady there examined my reassessment and told me that I can't protest at this time because the assessed value of my unit was reduced (from the previous 3 years when it had been WAY too high). I told her that was not fair because I had protested each of the previous 3 years as well and gotten no results. And now that it finally got reduced, I am told that I cannot protest because it won't make a difference.
She told me that the only way to protest would be to use recent sales in our building, and if there are no recent sales, then there are no values to compare. Well, in a 6-flat, how often are there sales, especially when condo sales prices have been so pitiful?
I told her that if I could have gotten even 70% of my condo's assessed value (of those past 3 years), I would have gladly sold my condo. But the assessed value was no-way near reality. And so no one in our 6-flat could sell even if they wanted to… Perhaps of us should have foreclosed or reneged on a mortgage? We need to be financially ruined to get our property's assessed value brought in line with reality?
She went on to say, "I'd hate to tell you to move out of Evanston, but the only way to get your taxes reduced is for one of you to sell your property. Then we can use that sales price to protest your property tax."
Well, what sense does that make?
One of 6 owners in a 6-flat has to sell every 3 years to make sure that the other 5 owners' property taxes don't get over- valued by the local govt?
I've lived in my condo for 10 years and in Evanston for 17 years, and I'm being told that if I want my property taxes reduced, the only way to do so is to sell, or hope someone else in the 6-flat sells…
It's just one more way Evanston officials are running Evanstonians out of town…