Real Estates Taxes... Do I hear anyone laughing?.

Now when it comes to real estate taxes no one is laughing even if they are the biggest of jokes.

Just about everyone has faced significant increases in real estates taxes over the last few years.

Many assessors in Chicagoland appear to be well organized and their website include, all details of the property and in some cases a sketch and photograph. Lake and Du Page Counties do very well when it comes to the accuracy of those details.

However there is one big offender in Chicagoland when it comes to accuracy and that is the county of Cook. Cook is terribly far behind in updating its assessor records. This naturally leads to inaccurate real estate tax assessments with some of us paying too little and some of us paying to much.

The most common problem lies in people building second stories or extending and the assessor not keeping up with it. In Chicago, the classic bungalow is often taxed as a single story property despite it frequently having a finished attic with bathrooms and bedrooms. I question the fairness of this.

In addition time and time again we see two very similar properties with totally different taxes. There is no logical explanation as to why. It makes one want to advocate checking out your street and snitching on the neighbors.

There are cases when the Cook County assessor refuse to takes into the effect of external obsolescence in the valuation of property. Basically they are saying the busy street and commercial complex outside your house does not effect the value. The assessor argued, after an appeal on the homeowners part, that the property conformed to the neighborhood and therefore should be taxed the same.

Last year the assessor in Cook County removed all senior citizens exemptions from properties and made the homeowners reapply. This was a good move as it removed all those folks that purchased a home with a senior citizen exemption and forgot to tell the assessor.

No matter there has to be a better way to assess taxes. There are theories to support an actual increase in revenue if we all paid the right amount. Chicago deserves better.

I am very interested to hear your real estate tax story. As usual be fair please.