Question about buying house: Riverwoods, Lake Forest, Northbrook (WRT: property taxes) (Chicago: 2013, assessors)

[odie91]

So, mainly my question is about property taxes -- I grew up in the area, so already know the low down on schools, commute, ameneties, etc, but I've never owned a house.. Please critique my logic on why these three options are attractive. Looking online, I do believe I can find a house that works for my needs in the 400-600K range in each of these towns.

- Lake Forest: Although Lake County is notoriously high for taxes, Lake Forest has relatively low taxes. But you have to pay more $ per sq ft to get into a house there.

- Northbrook: Lower taxes because it's in Cook County. Pay more for a house versus Libertyville/Lincolshire/etc, but pay less in taxes.

- Riverwoods: Feeds into the same great school system as Deerfield but has lower taxes compared to Deerfield (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm guessing this may be because there are a handful of $1M+ houses that pay a lot of taxes, so if I buy a 500K house, I get a pretty good tax bargain?


Other things to note: If not already obvious from my selections above, I want to be in a good school system. Want easy access to 94/294. Willing to spend more on house value, if I can pay lower taxes (for example, I can get a nicer house in Lincolshire, Libertyville, Vernon Hills -- but then get my butt handed to me in property taxes.... correct me if I'm wrong....?). I'm willing to make the trade off higher house price for lower taxes, because In the end, the equity I build in a house I can *hopefully* get back when I sell, but the taxes I pay over the years I won't get returned --- am I right in my logic?

Thanks in advance for your advice

[4122]

Riverwoods has higher taxes than Deerfield, and all of the towns you mentioned actually. Riverwoods has the 6th highest median taxes in all of the Chicago suburbs! This is due to Riverwoods' lack of stores and businesses. Lake Forest has higher taxes than a lot of neighboring towns and they're still considered higher than most of the suburbs.

Taxes still are pretty high in this area for a $500k house. It's not always true that if you pay more for a house, you pay less in property taxes or pay more in property taxes and pay less for the house. It really depends on the house. Two houses that have the same asking prices in the same town, but one could have $11k while the other has $8k. Of course, it's more likely to be way higher than $8k, but I have seen houses in this area $500k with $8k property taxes. However, property taxes get reassessed once you buy a house and they're more likely to go up than down. For the most part, they don't change much from the previous property taxes per year. The only way they can get reassessed lower is if you buy a house for a lot less money than it was bought the last time it was reassessed.

Northbrook is the most affordable between Lake Forest and Deerfield. What town did you grow up in? I'm from around the area too, so maybe you went to the same schools my kids have and currently attend.

Also, here's a list of all the Chicago suburbs by highest median property tax:
http://chicago.blockshopper.com/taxes

[odie91]

4122, I think perhaps you are referencing actual tax paid whereas I'm referencing tax rate? I believe a 500K house in Lake Forest will pay less in tax than a 500K house in Deerfield (or surrounding towns). I think the numbers you reference on Lake Forest or Riverwoods (especially Lake Forest, where there are not only $1.2M houses, but tons of $5M houses too!) skew the averages.

[4122]

Originally Posted by odie91

4122, I think perhaps you are referencing actual tax paid whereas I'm referencing tax rate? I believe a 500K house in Lake Forest will pay less in tax than a 500K house in Deerfield (or surrounding towns). I think the numbers you reference on Lake Forest or Riverwoods (especially Lake Forest, where there are not only $1.2M houses, but tons of $5M houses too!) skew the averages.

Yeah, that's what I was referencing. Take a look at the property taxes on this Riverwoods house and this Deerfield house, almost the same price and from the same tax year:
1355 Kenilwood Lane, Riverwoods, IL 60015 | MLS 08837482 | Listing Information | KoenigRubloff
1406 Central Avenue, Deerfield, IL 60015 | MLS 08829804 | Listing Information | KoenigRubloff

The Deerfield one is actually bigger because the square footage on listed isn't including the basement while the Riverwoods one includes the basement, but the Riverwoods house has a higher property tax. If you look up a property on the Lake County assessors website and do a property search of the house, it shows how big the basement is and how big the house is above ground. Lake Forest is partly in West Deerfield Township, partly in Shields Township, and partly in Vernon Township, so taxes for a $500k house varies there and some house can have higher property taxes than others.

[odie91]

Originally Posted by 4122

Lake Forest is partly in West Deerfield Township, partly in Shields Township, and partly in Vernon Township, so taxes for a $500k house varies there and some house can have higher property taxes than others.

Are you saying that certain houses that have Lake Forest mailing addresses actually have their property tax revenues going to Deerfield/Shields/Vernon townships?


Also, in your example of the 2 houses above, I got the sense that a $550K house in Deerfield that is only paying $9k in taxes is due to it last being purchased at $300-350K; then the owners rehabs it and raise it's value to $550K. So when the next person buys it, the township sees the latest purchase price at $550K and then hikes the tax rate up. While the house you list is $550K and paying $9K, I can certainly find houses in Deerfield listed at $550K with tax history at $12K. Again, I'm just trying to learn the tax game here, so your insight on my observations would be much appreciated =)

[4122]

Part of the tax revenues go to the township, part of them to the town, and a big portion of them go to the school districts, so in Riverwoods, the portions in Lincolnshire schools and the portions in Bannockburn School pay a different tax amount than the majority of Riverwoods.

Here's a chart of where the taxes go in nearby Moraine Township (Most of Highland Park and Highwood):
http://www.morainetownship.org/Budge...tribCharts.pdf

You're right about the taxes, but the Riverwoods house was probably sold for around the same price the Deerfield house was bought, since the Riverwoods has less value. I actually think the Riverwoods house is overpriced.

The houses in Deerfield that you saw with $12k taxes must've been sold for a higher price.