t’s only a matter of time before the county mails out the real estate tax bills for tax year 2007. Taxes will be payable in two equal installments, typically early June and September.
When you get your bill make sure to look in the lower right corner of the bill to make sure you received any exemption that you may be entitled to. If you feel you qualify for an exemption and it’s not shown on the tax bill please contact our office and provide them with your specific details. Remember, exemptions are only for owner-occupied properties as the primary residence. Second homes and rental properties are not eligible for exemptions.
Don’t yell at the folks in the assessment office because of the amount of the tax bill. Our statutory duty is to assess property at one-third market value. The total market value will be shown on the tax bill. If you disagree with the market value shown, the period to appeal the assessment amount expired on December 31, 2007. The assessment rolls for 2007 are complete. We can talk about your 2008 assessment anytime between now and the end of August 2008. You must submit evidence that your assessment is too high. For more information about appealing your assessment click on the Appeals link in the left-hand column. This page describes the assessment appeal process.
I don’t deny real estate taxes are high. However, if you don’t dispute the full market value of your property but are upset because of the amount of the tax bill, look on the left side of the bill, center portion, and you will see exactly how much of your money is going to each local government entity. Each government body passes a levy to obtain the money for them to operate. That levy eventually becomes the tax rate that has been extended to collect the money. If you feel any unit of government is taking too much you must take the time and attend the board meetings of the local unit of government. Contact them; find out when their budget meetings are held. Explain they are taking a chunk of your paycheck and you want to know how they are spending it. You have that right to know.
If your taxes increased by a large amount, any one of several things could be the explanation:
1. Your area was reassessed during 2007 to bring it up to the legal requirement of being assessed at one-third market value.
2. You no longer have an exemption that may have been on the prior year tax bill. This happens frequently when properties are purchased by younger folks from a senior citizen that was eligible for senior exemptions. It also happens if a property had a Home Improvement Exemption that has expired. Sometimes newer owners were not aware there was a home improvement exemption on the property when they purchased it. Home Improvement Exemptions are only valid for a maximum of four (4) years. If a senior had the Senior Assessment Freeze exemption in a prior year and no longer qualified for it during 2007 they will see a spike in the payable amount.
3. If a referendum was approved by the majority of owners within a district the effect will be a higher tax rate for the approved area.
These are most of the reasons folks see a spike in the real estate tax amount payable. There may be some other reasons, but if you contact the office (815-385-0175) we will do our best to explain it to you. Again, don’t yell at the assessment staff because your taxes increased. We don’t issue or collect the tax bills. Our total responsibility is to assess the property at one-third market value. Our primary concern is "does the assessment equate to one-third market value"?
Assessments and the Market – 2008 Assessment Year
This article is to update you on assessments as they relate to what everyone feels is a sinking real estate market. First, the statutory level of assessments in Illinois is one-third market value as of January 1st of the tax year. What that means in plain English is that – for 2008 we will be valuing (assessing) property as of January 1, 2008 – considering sales that took place during 2007 – not 2008. 2008 sales would be applicable for the 2009 assessment year.
McHenry Township is divided into over 100 different ‘neighborhoods’ for assessment purposes. That is, areas of similar development with similar features such as septic, community water, sewers, year built, etc. We are in the process of conducting sales ratio studies within each of these neighborhoods. A State of Illinois, Department of Revenue sales ratio is calculated by using the prior year assessed valuation divided by the current year selling price. For this study 2007 sales should be reviewed against the 2006 assessments. However, to get a more realistic picture of the assessments vs. the market I am using the 2007 sales against the 2007 assessments. This takes into consideration the 2007 equalization factor and the areas that were reassessed for 2007.
While there may be fewer sales during 2007 we are more interested in – when the sale does take place, what is the sales ratio of the sale? How close was the assessment to the selling price? Was the market value by the assessment higher or lower than the actual selling price? That is the true measure of assessments; not generalities extracted from national news reports.
So, what are we doing about it here? After completion of the township-wide sales ratio study I will be able to identify if individual neighborhoods are either under or over assessed. This is what I do every year. Since I’ve been the assessor the sales ratio study by neighborhood has been the dictating fact of where I reassess. If an area is under assessed they must be increased. If an area is over assessed they must be decreased.
A reassessment does not always mean an assessment increase. During 2007 several areas were increased but there were at least two whole neighborhoods that were decreased. Three areas are absolutely up for revaluation during 2008. They are Route 120 properties, McCullom Lake waterfront and Wonder Lake waterfront properties. I’m hoping we don’t have to do any more wide-area revaluation than that but I will be watching what is going on in the market for additional direction.
In summary, if your house has been on the market for at least three months with an asking price less than what the assessment indicates call the office and set up an appointment or stop by with copies of the listing sheets. I’d like to document the original listing price and any price reductions that may have taken place during the listing. I’d also like to know the feedback that ‘lookers’ have said about your property. Is there an assessable building characteristic or condition factor that is detracting from the market value? Don’t ask for an assessment reduction if your asking price is higher than the assessed value indicates simply because it’s been on the market for a while. It’s easier to work through these issues during the course of the year instead of waiting until the appeal period.
Real Estate Tax Bills are Coming