Illinois Ruling: PTAB Valuation Upheld 

In a May 14th ruling the Illinois Appellate Court held that the Property Tax Appeal Board's (PTAB) valuation of properties above the price at which the properties sold in bankruptcy was not in error.  The valuation was based on evidence of comparable property sales which indicated the bankruptcy sale prices were below the fair market value of the properties. However,  PTAB had not held that, as a matter of law, the sale of property through bankruptcy was not an arm's-length transaction. 

Cook County 2010 Assessment Notices in the Mail

The Cook County, IL Assessor's office has begun mailing the 2010 notices.  If you are lucky enough to receive one of the assessment notices in the mail it is either because:

• you live or have a business in the North or Northwest Townships and you are being reassessed this year

• you live or have business in the City, South or West Townships and there is a proposed change to your assessment out of the reassessment cycle

In either case, you have about a 30 day window to appeal the value.  Take action now!

SC Attorney General directs Assessors to Follow State Law

South Carolina's Attorney General recently issued an opinion stating that property tax assessors must follow state law rather than try to compensate market values for the current downturn in the real estate market.  This was in response to an opinion request where the hypothetical had an owner-occupied home worth $200,00 as of December, 2007.  Today the market value of the property would be $150,000.  The Attorney General said the property should be valued at $200,000, the value at the end of the base year.  In addition, if the value is appealed only the market value available in the year of equalization and reassessment can be considered.  therefore, the value would remain the same until the next reassessment.

Indiana Tax Bill Change

Indiana's General Assembly recently passed HB 1059 which helps take the guesswork out of when you will receive your Indiana property tax bill.  Applying only to those counties that have been behind schedule in mailing bills for two years in a row the bill requires a provisional bill be mailed with a June 10 due date.  The provisional bill will be 50% of the previous year's total tax liability.

If the final amount for the current year is determined by November a reconciliation bill will be issued and due in November.  If not, the remaining 50% of the previous year's bill will be collected with the reconciliation bill, if necessary, coming later.

The bills sponsors hope this will help taxpayers in their budgeting and taxing jurisdictions in their planning.

Spring Storms

Recent weather reports make it all to clear that the spring storm season is ramping up.  Just a reminder that when the howling winds and shaking earth do damage to your property tax relief is a possibility. 

Timing is everything tho.  Very often there are time constraints in place for notification and adjustments.