Do-It-Yourself Property Tax Appeals: Don’t

We’ve previously covered how you can appeal your own Cook County property taxes on a do-it-yourself (DIY) basis. We’ve also covered why this approach could result in your leaving money on the table and why using online services may not be much better.

This blog explains why you might leave money on the table in more detail, and why it’s important to at least consider working with an experienced partner like Kensington to appeal your property taxes and to get a reduction ranging from $2,700 to $46,000 over the triennial period.

Comps

Most people fail to choose the right “comps” when making the most common type of property tax appeal: the Lack of Uniformity Argument. To choose the right homes to compare yours with requires you to have data for all homes in your neighborhood as well as throughout your township. Your next door neighbors may not be the right comps because:

• They may also be over-assessed and due a reduction if they appealed
• Their home or property may have different attributes that affect its valuation

A Data-Driven Approach to Comps

The Kensington Research approach begins with our having the most current assessed value for every home in Cook County. We then run our proprietary algorithm over this data to identify the best comps for your home. Before we appeal, we estimate what your reduction will be, which has been highly accurate for us over the last 10,000 appeals, and we determine the potential benefit of an appeal. We can also evaluate whether you’re taking advantage of all applicable exemptions.

Other Arguments

If it looks like a property tax appeal based on comps isn’t compelling, we can also evaluate the merits of making a Comparable Sales Argument or an Economic Value Argument, which can be even more complicated than using comps. If you own a business or commercial property in Cook County, we also assist in commercial property tax appeals.

Property Tax Appeal Window

If it’s not open now, your township’s window to appeal your residential and commercial property taxes will be open soon, so contact us today for a free estimate.

Get Your Free Property Tax Reduction Estimate