Property Tax Alert

Over the past 20 years of providing independent appraisals, I have seen numerous errors in the living area estimates used by local tax assessors for the homes they value. Here is a common, easy-to-spot error I’ve seen in Northern IL especially Kendall and Grundy counties.

The sample sketch above shows the second floor area from the same two-story home. Notice how the open two-story ceiling area (such as over a foyer and family room) is not included as floor area on the sample on the left but is include in the sample on the right? If your home has this type of feature and has been measured like the sample on the right it is being over taxed for living area that you do not have! In this sample that difference is 600 square feet. There is no measuring standard that includes that type of space as floor area, yet I have seen it counted thousands of times in tax records throughout Northern IL! If you own a two-story home with open two-story ceiling area, you owe it to yourself to verify that the public records have this area excluded from the living area estimate used to develop your tax assessments. As an independent state certified appraiser I can provide a professional living area sketch that you can use to have this and other types of measurement errors corrected and your taxes reduced. This can done with a quick visit to the home and a simple consulting report or bundled with an appraisal report to fit any budget.




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