Tag Archives: Evanston

Board of Review Opens Group 4 for 2020 Appeals

The Cook County Board of Review has opened 2020 property tax appeals for the fourth group of townships. The Board’s deadline to appeal your 2020 assessed value is November 12th. Below are the townships that are currently open in Group 4:

  • Evanston
  • Palatine

If you missed your appeal opportunity at the Assessor’s office earlier in the year, or if you did appeal and weren’t satisfied with the result, you have a second opportunity to appeal at the Board of Review. Appealing your home’s 2020 assessed value is the only way to achieve property tax relief on your second installment property tax bill in July 2021, other than selling your home or claiming a new exemption. Assessments can be appealed every year, regardless of when a township was reassessed.
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Evanston Tax Bills Dash Hopes that Reassessment Might Be Kind to Homeowners

Listening Tour A Chance to Question Cook County Assessor

A whopping 86% of homeowners in Evanston are seeing property tax increases this year. A breakdown compiled by Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin shows that 11,924 of 13,810 residential properties have a tax bill that is higher – substantially in many cases – than last year’s.

Suffredin’s office has offered to help Evanston property owners who believe their tax bill contains errors or who may have overlooked an exemption that could lead to a reduction.
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Cook County Property Tax Warning: Land Assessed Value Increasing

Cook County Assessed Land ValueBased on statistics recently provided by the Cook County Assessor as part of their triennial assessment, assessed land values for Barrington, Evanston and New Trier townships have increased 15-21% over 2013.

Assessed land value decreased in these townships by 2-13% from 2010 to 2013 but are now 2-16% higher than they were in 2010.

See the table below for the assessed land value data:
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Cook County Assessor Extends Deadline for 9 Townships

May 1stThe Cook County Assessor’s Office has extended the deadline for 2020 property tax appeals for nine Townships. The Assessor’s deadline to appeal your 2020 assessed value is now May 1st for the following townships:

  • Evanston
  • Norwood Park
  • Rogers Park
  • New Trier
  • Barrington
  • River Forest
  • Riverside
  • Oak Park
  • Palos

We recommend property owners review their assessments annually and appeal whenever there is a strong evidence based argument that your home may not be assessed fairly. Barrington, New Trier, Norwood Park, and Evanston Townships were reassessed in 2019 but even if you appealed last year you may appeal your assessment again this year. A successful appeal in 2020 may result in two years of savings, until Barrington, New Trier, Norwood Park, and Evanston are reassessed in 2022. Rogers Park Township’s next triennial reassessment is scheduled for 2021. River Forest, Riverside, Oak Park, and Palos triennial reassessments occurred between February and March of this year. Any savings received in 2020 for River Forest, Riverside, Oak Park, and Palos will last for 3 years, until the next triennial reassessment in 2023. The best way to ensure you never pay more than your fair share in property taxes is to review your assessment every year and appeal whenever you have a strong basis for an appeal argument, no matter where your township is at in the triennial reassessment cycle.
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Reassessment Hikes Hit Some Evanston Homeowners Hard

Reassessment Hikes Hit Some Evanston Homeowners HardSome Evanston homeowners seeing the results of the recently completed property tax reassessment are reeling from increases of more than 50 percent, according to news reports.

The reassessment, while conducted under a formula tweaked by a new tax assessor working to revamp the much-criticized processes under his predecessor, is not expected to bring much good news to the county’s northernmost townships, particularly for homeowners along the lakefront.

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who urged residents to appeal their assessments both to the assessor’s office and to the Cook County Board of Review, reported through his office that homeowners along the lake had median increases in assessed values of 50%, while those in Evanston’s south and southwest neighborhoods had median increases of between 6% and 9%.
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Cook County Home & Land Assessments Increasing 17-25%+

Evanston Property Tax IncreasesSo far, three Cook County townships have been opened for property tax appeals that have been reassessed based on Cook County’s triennial assessment schedule: Evanston, New Trier and Barrington.

The median assessed values on homes (not on land – more on that later) has increased 17-25% in these three townships. That being the median, we’ve represented many homeowners from these townships that have seen 40% increases in assessed home values.
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Appeal Deadlines Suspended as Cook Assessor’s Office Manages the COVID-19 Threat

Appeal Deadlines SuspendedWith 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.
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2019 Triennial Reassessment Notices Mailed to Evanston Property Owners

Evanston2019 triennial reassessment notices were mailed to Evanston Township property owners on Friday, March 15th. Valuation statistics from the Cook County Assessor’s office for Evanston Township can be found here (when they become available). Homeowners in Evanston have thirty days 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 15th.

We recommend homeowners review their assessment annually, especially in a year when their township is reassessed, 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 Evanston property, in comparison to other 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.
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