Community Corner

Property Tax Assessments Go Out and the Questions Roll In

Several residents have complained to city hall about inconsistent assessments in Darien, officials said.

‘Tis the season for comfort and joy—and property tax assessments.

Residents of Downers Grove Township, which includes , received their 2011 property tax assessments a little less than two weeks ago.

This was a general assessment year, the time every four years when the township is required to reassess every home within its boundaries.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Since the real estate market’s 2008 downturn, many homeowners expected the assessed value of their properties to plummet this year.

And some did.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But others increased or stayed the same, and the owners aren’t happy about it.

Several have complained about what they say are wildly different assessments for similar properties.

“Some have dropped dramatically, but it’s really all over the board,” said Assistant City Administrator Scott Coren. “It’s tough to tell why one is assessed one way and why others have gone up.”

About 15 Darien residents have discussed their assessments with Coren during the past two weeks. Most have complained about increases, though Coren noted one resident whose assessed value dropped about 10 percent. 

Ward 6 Alderman Sylvia McIvor’s assessment increased by 1.8 percent to $130,190 from $127,850 in 2010.

The assessed value of a home is one-third of its fair-market value, said DuPage Township Assessor Theresa Cockrell.

Her office calculates the fair-market value by examining sales data for similar homes in the area from the past three years—in this case 2008, 2009 and 2010.

McIvor found three other homes in her subdivision that are the same model as her own. The one with the next highest assessed value—$120,560—was assessed at $10,000 less than McIvor’s house. 

“It seems like there’s no rhyme or reason to it,” she said.

Cockrell said it’s not uncommon for properties that look the same from the outside to have differences inside. Add-ons such as patios, a finished basement or extra bathrooms can all raise a home’s value.

Though nearly everyone gets a homeowner’s exemption, special exemptions for being a senior citizen or completing home improvements could also be a factor, she said. (A home improvement exemption of about $3,000 will be deducted from McIvor’s assessment when she receives her tax bill, Cockrell wrote in an email to McIvor that was shared with Patch.)

Upon further examination, McIvor noticed the square footage on her home was listed as significantly higher than the other similar homes.

She decided to measure her basement and found that the assessment inaccurately listed the space’s square footage as 1,389—nearly four times its actual size. 

If, like McIvor, a homeowner suspects an error in this year’s calculations, Cockrell encourages him or her to come to the assessor’s office.

“It could be as simple as a human error in calculation because we still do these calculations by hand,” she said. “So we’ll correct that right away.”

Cockrell said homeowners will get some relief in 2012 when a new rule allows assessors to use data from foreclosures and short sales in their market calculations. Until now, only homes sold through traditional transactions were included in the calculations. 

Lyman Avenue resident Steve Szot said the effect of foreclosures on home values in his neighborhood has been frustrating.

“I don’t think it’s fair with property values going down for them to reassess higher because everywhere you look there are foreclosures,” he said.

It’s unjustifiable, he said, for the assessments to be increasing in light of the market.

Next year when foreclosures are included, however, Cockrell said assessed values will likely drop 10 to 14 percent.

Homeowners have until Dec. 27 to file an appeal with the DuPage County Board of Review over their 2011 assessment. 

After having her 2009 appeal rejected, McIvor said this year she plans to appeal with the help of an outside firm.

“I’m going to give it my best shot,” she said. “I hope other people do too.”

Interested in filing an appeal? Check out our video tutorial, .


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