In Illinois, every county and township has its own regulations. In Cook County, residential properties are evaluated as of January 1st of the current year, utilizing three to five years of prior market sales data. This enhances the stability of market value estimates by employing multiple years. It is important to use prior market sales data to make sure the most accurate data is provided and up to date. The taxable quantity of the property is the level of assessed value, as determined by the Cook County ordinance. The Cook County Assessor’s Office is liable for the valuation of over 1.8 million parcels in the county.
When it comes to residential property, the assessed value is equivalent to 10% of the home’s fair market value, as stated by the office of the assessor for Cook County. To arrive at an assessment of the fair market value of your property, the Cook County assessor takes into consideration two factors: the characteristics of your home, as well as patterns that exist between the characteristics of other properties and how they impacted their selling prices.
Many Cook County residents also occupy condos, and the regulations are slightly different. A significant distinction between detached residences and condos is that condos are units within a single structure. Each condo unit is allocated a percentage of ownership, which is equivalent to a proportionate share of the building’s total value. For instance, in a ten-unit building, one unit may be allocated 25% ownership, another 15%, and the remaining six units are each allocated 10%. In general, condos are assessed in the same manner as detached homes or residences. The Assessor’s Office does not determine the percentage of ownership in the case of condos. It is rather determined at the time of construction, and by the developer of the building.
For commercial property in Cook County, Illinois, the office of the Cook County assessor determines the value of commercial properties by taking into consideration a number of criteria, such as the number of parcels that are included inside the property, its location, the vacancy rates, and the use of the property. The assessed value is equal to 25% of the property’s fair market value for the majority of commercial property owners.
How is Mass Appraisal Used in Cook County?
Skilled residential analysts and a Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system are employed by the Cook County Assessor’s Office to generate property value assessments. Property values are determined by the assessor’s office through mass appraisal. Mass appraisal is a method the county assessor claims to provide an assessment system that is equitable or fair. Mass appraisal, in contrast to individual property appraisals, utilizes the real estate market to identify regional fluctuations in property values that are contingent upon location and attributes. The fair market value of each property is estimated using those trends. While mass appraisal is more cost effective and efficient as a system for a county office where resources may be limited, homeowners may disagree that this method offers the most accurate results. Defects in the process will provide residential property owners the opportunity to build a case for appeal with a strong chance of gaining a reduction.
The sale prices of certain communities are higher than those of others. The transaction prices of smaller homes are typically lower, while those of larger homes are higher. The CAMA system of the assessor’s office identifies patterns in this data to calculate the dollar amounts of how each of these attributes may have influenced the increase or decrease in sale values.
Cook County Property Taxes and Assessed Value
All local taxing bodies that provide services in your community, including schools, parks, pensions, and library districts, determine the total amount of property taxes that will be collected. Your portion of those taxes is contingent upon the assessed value of your property. Property owners in Cook County can file appeals if they deem their property taxes unreasonable or inequitable. A property tax appeal is a procedure that enables property owners to contest the assessed value of their property for tax purposes. The value of properties is evaluated by local government authorities to calculate the amount of property tax that property owners are obligated to pay.
Appeals may only be submitted during specific time windows. The Assessor’s Office revises its assessment of each property’s fair market value and corresponding assessed value every three years. A residential property owner may determine that the fair market value of their residence is either accurate or excessively high, and they may wish to protest the accuracy of these values by pursuing an appeal. The property’s assessed value will be reduced in the event that an appeal is granted to obtain a lower fair market value. Over 95% of annual revaluation appeals are expected to be successful. Approximately 17.7% of commercial property assessments were reduced annually in townships in Cook County.
Market Value
O’Connor’s property tax agents work hard to fight your assessed value to reduce your property tax liability. One of the ways O’Connor’s property tax professionals accomplish reducing your assessment value is by comparing your home’s assessment to comparable homes in the current market value. When you compare houses, their market values should be similar, which means their estimated values should also be close in value. One method of determining whether your home has been assessed equitably is to compare its assessment to that of other similar residences that share characteristics.
For two properties, such as residences, to be comparable, they must share the following characteristics:
- Age
- Land square footage
- Building square footage
- Property class or classification codes
- Type of construction
- Location
Property types are classified using property class codes. The square footage, age, purpose, and stories are among the factors which establish a classification code. The Cook County Assessor’s Office defines a 2-03 (a common classification code) as a one-story home that is between 999 to 1,000 square feet.
For the best results, it is important for the characteristics of the homes to be up to date.
Use Property Tax Exemptions to Benefit You
Property tax exemptions remove part of the value of your property from taxation and lower your taxes. Being a property owner may allow you to avoid paying high property taxes with the help of exemptions. For example, if your home is valued at $100,000 and you qualify for a $25,000 exemption, you pay taxes on your home as if it was worth only $75,000. Homeowners may save money on their tax bills by taking advantage of property tax exemptions.
To help you save money and lower the value of your property, In Cook County there are eight different types of exemptions. With each exemption, estimates of reduction, eligibility requirements, qualifications, and application processes vary. According to the Cook County Assessor Office, the Homeowner Exemption could save property owners in Cook County on average over $900 dollars each year.
The following is a list of all the tax exemptions for Cook County:
- Homeowner Exemption
- Senior Exemption
- Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Exemption “Senior Freeze”
- Persons with Disabilities Exemption
- Returning Veterans Exemption
- Veterans with Disabilities exemption
- Long-Time Homeowner Exemption
- Home Improvement Exemption
How Can O’Connor Help you
O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ is a risk-free property tax program that will help homeowners reduce on their property tax liability. Through the help of property tax professionals, O’Connor will fight the appraisal value by protesting the high assessment values on the properties of Cook County residents. As part of the program, top property tax consultants will analyze comparable market sales and existing assessments, as well as research property tax appeals, prepare, and present before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). If taxes aren’t reduced, You Pay Nothing. If your taxes are reduced, you pay a portion dependent on your tax savings.