Facing Potential Property Tax Hikes, Chicago Homeowners Must Challenge Their Reassessments
After the recent Cook County property reassessment, many commercial and residential property owners are shaking their heads, wondering how they are going to deal with staggering increases. On the commercial side, Chicago already has the second-highest property tax rates in the country, but annual, single-digit increases keep coming as city and state governments look for revenue sources to cover unfunded pension liabilities. However, commercial landlords have been successful in appealing their assessments and thus reducing their tax obligations. Chicago Real Estate Daily reported that of the 10 largest commercial landlords, nine chose to challenge their reassessments and seven were able to get reductions.
Meanwhile, reassessments have caused serious crises for many homeowners who face property tax increases of as much as 50 percent. Rather than getting priced out of their homes, residential property owners must adopt the same tactics as the large commercial landlords and aggressively challenge the real estate assessment.
There are several stages of appeal to different agencies and boards, all the way to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board and the Circuit Court. With thoroughly compiled evidence and the necessary persistence, an experienced Chicago real estate taxation attorney at Gordon & Pikarski may be able to help you save thousands of dollars from your initial reassessment.