Author Archives: admin2

Assessor Mails Palatine Assessment Notices

The Cook County Assessor has mailed Palatine Township assessment notices. Each year, regardless of where your township falls in the triennial cycle, you have a 30 day window to appeal your property’s assessment at the Assessor’s office. That window for Palatine is now open and the deadline to file a 2017 appeal is Monday, May 1^st.

If you missed your opportunity to appeal in your triennial year of 2016 an appeal in 2017 can still achieve savings for two years until Palatine is reassessed in 2019. Since the housing market is always changing we believe it is in your interest to review your assessment every year to determine whether an appeal makes sense or not.

Get Your Free Property Tax Reduction Estimate

New Trier Township 2019 Triennial Reassessments Mailed

Triennial reassessment notices were mailed to New Trier Township homeowners on Friday, March 29^th. Valuation statistics from the Cook County Assessor’s office for New Trier Township can be found here (when they become available). Homeowners in New Trier have one month to appeal their assessment at the Assessor’s office (there is also a second opportunity to appeal later in the year at the Board of Review). The deadline for appealing at the Assessor’s office is Monday, April 29^th.

We suggest homeowners review their assessment annually, especially in a reassessment year, to ensure they do not pay more than their fair share in property taxes. Successfully appealing in a reassessment year may provide 3 years of savings on future property tax bills. If you would like a free analysis of your New Trier property, in comparison to similar properties, we are happy to conduct a “no obligation” analysis and provide you with a free estimate of how much we believe we could help you save with an appeal.
Continue reading →

Crain’s: Undervalued Commercial Buildings May Shift Tax Burden

Cook County Commercial Property Tax Appeals A Crain’s Chicago Business analysis found that the Cook County Assessor’s Office may have undervalued some of the city’s priciest, most iconic commercial buildings, raising more questions about the “accuracy and fairness of Cook County’s assessment process.”

The February 23 story compared recent sales prices of 50 of the county’s most expensive buildings to the taxable value set by the assessor’s office. The analysis found the average building assessed at about 46% of its selling price.

One example of these so-called “trophy” buildings is the Aon Center, an 83-story office tower near Chicago’s Millennium Park, which sold for $712 million 2015. The assessor’s office, Crain’s reported, valued the property at $356.4 million.
Continue reading →

Listening Tour a Chance to Question Cook County Assessor

Listening Tour A Chance to Question Cook County Assessor Cook County property owners who have something they’d like to say to, or ask of newly-elected Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi will have their chance next month as part of his roll-out of a “listening tour.”

There will be six opportunities in April beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 6 in Palatine, according to a schedule released by the assessor’s office.

Additional events scheduled for April include stops in Schaumburg, Wilmette, Schiller Park and Chicago. Each event will run for 90 minutes and will also be attended by a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

For a complete list of the events scheduled so far, click here.
Continue reading →

Appeal Deadlines Suspended as Cook Assessor’s Office Manages the COVID-19 Threat

Appeal Deadlines Suspended With health and safety as the primary concern at the moment, the Cook County Assessor’s Office has temporarily suspended the deadlines for appealing your property tax assessment and the physical office is temporarily closed to the public.

If you live in one of the nine townships where the appeals window was open as of March 19, that means you can still file an appeal online, and the processing of appeals will continue. Residential property owners can also file applications for any of the various exemptions online as well.

If you live in one of the townships where assessment notices have not yet gone out, new dates for your appeal window will be announced as soon as they are available.

Kensington Taxpayer Advocates are Available to Help

In the meantime, at Kensington, our appeals staff is working remotely and available to help you attempt to lower your assessment. We are processing applications using e-signatures so you will not have to leave the safety and comfort of your home to begin the process of reducing your property tax bill. We will email you all of the required documents and you can sign using a smartphone, tablet or personal computer.
Continue reading →

Assessment Notices Mailed to Elk Grove Township

Elk Grove Township assessment notices were mailed on Thursday, March 22^nd, by the Cook County Assessor’s office. If you are a homeowner in Elk Grove Township the window to appeal your assessment is now open until the deadline of Monday, April 23^rd.

We recommend you review your assessment twice per year, and appeal each time there is a strong appeal argument to be made. Others also recommend this approach.
Continue reading →

Cicero Reassessment Notices Mailed by Assessor’s Office

Cicero Township triennial reassessment notices were mailed on March 21^st. The Cook County Assessor’s Office is now accepting appeals through their deadline of Friday, April 21^st.

Townships are reassessed every 3 years in Cook County and Cicero Township is part of the south suburban group which is being reassessed in 2017. According to the Assessor’s Office the median assessed value percentage change in Cicero was 22.91% (since the last reassessment in 2014). For complete Cicero Township valuation statistics click here.

Get Your Free Property Tax Reduction Estimate

Cook County Assessor’s Office Opens Cicero Township for 2016 Property Tax Appeals

The Cook County Assessor’s Office has announced that assessment notices were mailed on March 21, 2016, for Cicero Township.

The deadline to file a 2016 property tax appeal at the Cook County Assessor’s Office is April 21, 2016.

New Trier 2018 Assessment Notices Mailed

Assessment notices for 2018 have been mailed to New Trier Township property owners. The 30 day window to appeal your assessment is now open at the Assessor’s office until the deadline of Thursday, April 19^th.

We recommend you review your assessed value every year, even if you appealed and won last year, to ensure you don’t pay more than your fair share in property taxes. After you complete your review of your assessment you’ll want to consider appealing your valuation (we are not the only ones who recommend this approach).
Continue reading →

Oak Park 2019 Assessment Notices Mailed

Assessment notices for tax year 2019 were mailed by the Cook County Assessor’s office on Tuesday, March 19^th to Oak Park property owners. The thirty day window to appeal your 2019 assessed value is now open until the deadline of Friday, April 19^th.

We believe homeowners should review their assessments annually and appeal each year if there is a strong argument that their home may not be assessed fairly. Oak Park’s next triennial reassessment will be in 2020. However, if you feel that your assessment is not fair there is no need to wait to appeal, you have the option to appeal every year at the Assessor’s office and at the Board of Review. If you’d like a second opinion on your assessed value as it compares to similar homes in your neighborhood contact us for a free, no obligation, analysis of your home.
Continue reading →