At Kensington Research and Recovery, our goal is to make sure our clients do not pay more than their fair share of property taxes.

That requires careful scrutiny of comparable properties or “comps” to make sure that the value the tax assessor sets is fair. We know from having assisted with more than 24,000 successful residential appeals, it often isn’t. There are many ways that property tax assessments can end up inflated, leaving homeowners paying more in taxes than they should.

But for people who live in areas hit hard by economic downturn, inflated assessments can be a financial disaster, eventually costing homeowners more than their properties are worth – especially when foreclosures and short sales in your area are not factored into your property taxes.
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Just when you thought the property tax situation for Chicago and Cook County residents couldn’t get any worse: a provision in the House tax plan would cap the property tax deduction for federal income tax filers at $10,000. The current deduction is $15,000.

The Senate’s tax plan would eliminate the tax deduction altogether.

This is yet another reason why appealing your property taxes is so important, and the only way to ensure you only pay your fair share.
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Homeowners sometimes mistakenly give up on the property tax appeal process because they successfully reduce their assessed value once, but then have the Assessor raise their assessment the following year. They then conclude that the time and money they spent on their appeal was a waste.

Any reduction in assessed value achieved in an appeal will result in tax savings for at least one year.
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