Assessment of condos may not be accurate

Q. We own a unit in a small condominium association in Cook County. The current declaration of condominium allocates percentage of ownership equally (20 percent) among all of the five units. However, the penthouse unit is large, has a great view and incudes a parking space, and the small basement unit does not. The actual sales price for units varies based on size and location of the unit, and whether the unit has parking.

As a result of the equal percentage of ownership for each unit, assessments are the same for the larger penthouse unit as for the basement unit. The bigger concern though is that all units are assessed by Cook County equally for purposes of real estate taxes. The county's assessed valuation for the units is way out of whack with the actual market values. Am I better off filing my own appeal with the assessor, or should all of the owners file together as a group?

A. In Cook County in particular, the assessor strongly prefers an appeal filed by the association that includes all of the units, and not individual unit appeals. This is because the assessed valuation for the individual units needs to tie back to the assessed valuation for the building and land as a whole.

Individual appeals have some relation to one another, so filing of individual appeals would be just plain cumbersome for the assessor. Section 10(c) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act authorizes the board of managers of the association to pursue an appeal on behalf of all the owners, and this is a decision the board can make.

The tax appeal can use the actual sales prices of the units to show what the assessed valuation of the units should be for purposes of real estate taxes. However, given that the developer's allocation of percentage of ownership appears to have been incorrect, the unit owners should consider an amendment to the declaration to allocate percentage of ownership based on value of the units; I'm not sure what the developer did here. This would require approval by all the owners.

Q. I am on the board of a condominium. A reserve study has never been prepared and annual contributions to the reserve bear no apparent relationship to useful lives and future replacement costs of capital components of our building and property. The board now wants to create a reserve study on its own and does not want to hire a professional. Is this feasible?

A. I would not suggest attempting a "do-it-yourself" reserve study. Establishment of a reasonable reserve may be one of the more important fiduciary responsibilities of an association's board of directors. In my opinion, a professionally prepared reserve study is the foundation of the establishment of a reasonable reserve. Reliance on a professionally prepared reserve study also helps insulate the board from a breach of fiduciary duty claim, if an owner contends that the amount of the reserve is not reasonable.

Q. Can a unit owner in an association have their own website that discusses association issues?

A. An owner in an association can have their own website and post association issues online. However, an owner needs to be very careful in these situations. The website cannot create confusion as to the source of the website. That is, the website cannot leave the impression that it is a product of the association. The owner's website should include a disclaimer that the site is neither associated or affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the named association.

However, if the website does create such confusion as to the source, or leaves the impression it is published by the association, the association can take legal action against the owner, as the owner may be in violation of both state and federal law.

• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.