How to appeal your assessment

Under Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, it's become easier for homeowners to file their own assessment appeals.

“If someone thinks they have a good handle on things, they might as well do it online,” said Wheeling Township Assessor Dan Patlak, recently elected as a Republican to the lone suburban seat on the three-person Board of Review. “It's easy.”

The site cookcountyclerk.com has links to file an appeal with either the assessor or the Board of Review. A homeowner can also check the current assessment north-suburban Cook above North Avenue is now being reassessed for the 2010 tax year as well as closing dates for appeals to be filed by township, some of which are already approaching, at cookcountyassessor.com.

Patlak said township assessors can typically be consulted to help with the process, for instance in how to find assessed market values of similar nearby properties, to better argue for a reduction.

Property-tax attorneys also frequently offer to appeal for a share of the eventual reduction. For instance, Des Plaines-based Elliott & Associates is sending out mailings to former clients stating that it will perform the service “for $100, plus 50 percent of the projected tax savings,” and that “if no assessment reduction is obtained, no contingent fee shall be due.”

Joanne Elliott said most property-tax attorneys work that way with residential properties, but homeowners might still opt to do it themselves. “If it's a residential matter, and you're an individual who has some experience in valuation, maybe combined with negotiation, and they were willing to put the time into it ... they probably would be able to do a good job,” she added.

Commercial properties owned by corporations, however, must file an appeal at the Board of Review through an attorney.

Elliott said Cook's new 10-25 ordinance setting assessments at 10 percent of market value for residential properties, 25 percent for commercial contributed to the record number of appeals this year, but also made it easier for homeowners to see if that's truly what their home would sell for and determine whether to file an appeal. “It's going to make it more clear for most homeowners,” she said.