How much did your Taxes go up? Numbers $$$ only thread...

[LovesCatsandDogs]

Oh, come on, Coldwine. We can handle it. The OP said to name figures, no moaning. We all know there are single family homes in the Gold Coast that may have 6 figure property tax bills. At least provide your percentage increase, no?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by coldwine

I guess when times get tough, certain zipcodes are lucky enough to win the "pay for the entire city" lotto.

It's typically areas that saw a lot of appreciation over the last decade (beyond the capped 7%). The issue is that there was a 7% annual cap on property tax increases that our idiot state legislators didn't renew. So, in the past, even if your property increased in value by 20%, your taxes only went up 7% at a maximum. Many properties had a lot of "catching up to do" since they had many years of appreciation numbers higher than 7%.

So how did I avoid this even though I live in formerly "hot" Uptown? Well, I'm in the 60613 zip code (Buena Park and northern Lake View), and in an area that has been relatively stable for decades. We didn't see the appreciation here on the lakefront that people had in the sketchier parts of Uptown. Also, our building collectively filed an appeal last year to get our assessed values lowered. This is probably the biggest factor.

[deechee]

Well according to the previous owners and my neighbors, my taxes have not gone up much.

So I'll say $220?

[WhaThe]

I keep getting mail from attorneys saying they will reduce my taxes or I pay nothing. Just sign on the dotted line and mail it back.

Anyone had any experience with this?

Looks like they take a bite out of whatever they save you. One of the letters stated they took around 30% which I'm thinking might be a bit high.

It does make me think I've got nothing to lose but would love a reference or the benefit of others experiences.