The first year I appealed, I was awarded a 1-year reduction of $1k. I never understood why it was only for one year and was afraid to ask. I think it had to do with the fact that they incorrectly measured my building. They had been assessing me and the owner before me as having 3,000 sf, when we only have about 2,600 sf. Do you believe that $hit? The second year I appealed in order to make the reduction permanent, I lost at the county level and just last Monday had my hearing with the State. I thought it went extremely well, but won't get a decision until early '08.
Ok, I'll get your contact info and we'll meet next week.
"You shouldn't soil your Sunday pants, like those other foolish ants."
Up about 5%. I bought in 2005. With one phone call to Milton Township I got the 2006 AV reduced to slightly less than 1/3rd of my sales price. Now they've jacked it back up to about where it was before. I would bet all of Clam's money that the average home values in my neighborhood declined over the last 2 years. I'll file a complaint this year. It's not that hard. If they hadn't reduced it so easily last time I would have filed one then too. One 2 minute phone call saved me about a grand. The situation was unique, as the assessor's AV was MORE than 1/3rd of what I bought the house for, so they really had no argument for the AV being where it was.
Normally, the only AV complaints that have any merit are those that show the home is not equally assessed with similar properties in your immediate area. In other words, it's not that you are OVER assessed, it's that you are not EQUALLY assessed. The argument that you are assessed at more than 1/3rd of market value almost never succeeded because the assessor almost never pushed the AV to exactly 1/3rd of market value. However, with the decline in the market over the last couple of years, I think you should be able to argue that any increase is not justified. You just have to come armed with the evidence that supports your argument. I'll have to look for data that supports my theory. Potts, get on that and have it on my desk by COB Friday.
I am a dyslexic agnostic insomniac. I lay awake at night wondering if there is a dog.
I actually had a very good result with these people regarding my senior citizen mom who forgot to send in her paperwork for 2006 for all the exemptions. They backtracked and gave her the credit and gave the family the refund. Nice!
+128%. WTF? Is that even legal? I thought there was a cap on value year to year. This means several thousand dollars more, and that's just on the vacant lot we have next to the lot the house is on.
We thought it was a mistake. We hope it is a mistake. No improvememnts have been made whatsoever. We also received the Milton TOwnship General Assessment List in the G.E. News the other day. Every single property in the township shows an "improvement."
Not only that, The published amount in the paper doesn't even agree with the values in the notice that came in the mail.
I have had success in getting our EAV reduced several times going in person to see them at the township offices. The offices are over on north Main Street Wheaton across from the Walgreen's. Bring in your comps or whatever other supporting documents you have and, most importantly, a pleasant demeanor. A neighbor with a very good case went in with an attitude and they handed him the hearing papers - a more onerous process, to be sure.
I won't be there this year - though I can't help but worry that the reduced number is going to be snatched away at any time . . . .
This message has been edited. Last edited by: GEmom2,
GESince1958 - the "improvement" figure is the number for your house assessment - the difference between that number and the total is your land value. There should be zero in the improvement spot for land with no structures.
The "improvement" means the building. Look at the definitions at the start of the newspaper insert. Improvement = Building value, Total = Building Value + Land Value.
Save your copies of the 'Milton Township General Assessment List' that were delivered with the freebie paper yesterday... It could make for some interesting reading - it's long been rumored that there exist a number of connected people that receive preferential treatment, indeed a previous assessor told me that he was forced out after bringing up the seriously under assessed values of downtown GE commercial property.
BTW, the term "Improvement" denotes "the value of improvements which are the building or buildings located on the property." It does not mean the value has "improved" or gone up.
Posts: 2462 | Location: Glen Ellyn, Il | Registered: September 23, 2003
9% for us too. And that's after a much larger increase last year when our remodeling stuff was reassessed. CRAP.
"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith. " -Bertrand Russell V. Delong
Posts: 3216 | Location: Glen Ellyn, IL | Registered: April 04, 2003
Originally posted by jombl: Looking up 5 houses and down 5 houses the range is +3 to +12% - with no consistency, rhyme or apparent reason. It really looks random.
Exactly. There is very little consistency. I have analyzed my entire block and almost every parcel of land has been charged a different $ amount per sq ft. It's ridiculous. My buddy in cook county performed the same analysis and noted that most every parcel of land on his block was identical. What gives?
I have sent certified letters to the DuPage County Tax Assessor asking them to define the rule and regulations that govern land assessmet. They refuse to respond. They use various methods but refuse to define where its scribed. This was brought up in my hearing.
"You shouldn't soil your Sunday pants, like those other foolish ants."
