Whenever a client hires our firm in connection with a Cook County real estate purchase or sale, one of the first things we do is check out the Assessor's web site. The property search function provides homebuyers, owners, and the professionals that represent them with data points that can be critical to their deals. We are on this site every day.
What the Assessor's office does
The Assessor sets the valuations (worth) of Cook County's more than 1.8 million parcels of property. These assessments are then plugged into the mathematical formula used to calculate annual property taxes. The property's assessed value, in part, determines the amount of property taxes. Taxes are likewise impacted by the use (or failure to use) of several recognized tax "exemptions."
What we look for
A check-in with the County Assessor helps assure clients that their purchase/sale deals are properly documented and that they are being treated fairly in the allocation of real estate property taxes. We look for a couple of different things:
Property Identification Number (PIN)
As obvious as this may seem, it is important to confirm that the property a client is buying is the one that they intend to buy, and that it is described correctly in the contract. Our first stop is to confirm the correct Property Index Numbers. Far too often they are wrong, incomplete, or missing altogether from the contract. Likewise, a street address may be wrong or incomplete too.
Searching for a property by PIN can confirm a street address. Similarly, searching by street address can help identify the correct PIN. Knowing the PINs enables a searcher to check and confirm property tax amounts, payment statuses and delinquencies, and make preliminary title determinations.
Assessment history
Knowing the property's assessed value is critical too, as it may help in evaluating the risk of a steep tax bill increase or decrease in the coming year. This is important in order to allocate property tax liabilities at closing.
The County re-assesses every parcel of land once every three years. The Assessor's web site shows two years of assessments. We can see if an assessment has changed or if it is due to be changed soon. A large drop-off may result in a lower tax liability. A steep rise may lead to tax increases. Knowledgeable buyers and sellers can leverage this information while negotiating their contract tax pro ration factors.
Exemption status
Many homeowners are entitled to claim any (or all) of seven types of "exemptions" that can lower overall tax bills. The search function allows two different paths to determine a property owner's historical use of these exemptions.
Homeowners and sellers who discover that they have failed to claim exemptions they were otherwise entitled to may be able to file "certificates of error" to claim a refund of such over-payments. These most commonly seem to involve missed "homeowners exemptions."
Buyers who discern that an exemption could be lost going forward may also be able to negotiate with their sellers to either preserve the exemption or to adjust tax allocations accordingly. This happens most often in cases where the sellers are senior citizens or estates of recently deceased elders. Successful efforts here can also realize significant property tax savings.
New construction and condo conversions
New construction and condo conversion/rehabilitation deals present unique tax liability challenges for buyers, their counsel, and their mortgage lenders. Often a single tax parcel will be divided into separate pieces for each new apartment in a building or home in a subdivision. Taxes for prior years may also have been assessed against vacant/undeveloped land.
In such circumstances, buyers may face steep tax increases going forward, once the county adjusts property assessments to allow for the new construction. Knowing the timing of such changes is critical for the buyer's planning purposes and for any lender tax escrows.
The Assessor's web site also includes more resources, including a well-stocked forms library and appeals page* to help owners appeal to have their property assessments lowered.
*Keep in mind, you can file an appeal alone, with your condo association (if applicable), or hire a property tax litigation attorney (sorry, that's not our firm).