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**i live in IL and a western suburb located in cook county
so me and my guy we thought we found a great home, a relatively newer townhouse built in 2011. Come to find out land assessment was 15k but the home features 1.3ksf, 3 bed 2 bath, basement, and 2 car garage. taxes on each individual home was $8,051. read a few listings that mentioned a figure around that but thought maybe it was an error or they could be basing the taxes off all 4 homes and we all split the costs or possibly the costs would be split by the home conjoined to the one i would be buying. i ended up making a phone call to the county treasure department in which it was confirmed. the man i spoke to didnt even believe the tax amount and ended up checking the next door townhome and said they had separate pins and that place was paying the same 8k tax amount. told my realtor to withdraw my offer and he was shocked and wants to double himself now because it didnt make sense to him
its very odd the taxes are that high because NONE of the other townhomes in the area nor in the better "uppity" areas are even remotely that high, single family homes dont even have property taxes that high around me so i dont get it
**there isnt any back taxes owed either
BUUUUT it leaves me with the only 2 possible questions. do newer homes/townhouses/condos have much higher property tax than older ones? and/or do some townhouses simply just have really high property taxes?
Some municipalities offer a 'credit' for primary residences. I do not know if that is the case in Cook county. Could it be a rental or a second home? If it is, and Cook County has this condition, the taxes could drop if you were an owner occupant.
It is a question to ask at least.
Typically taxes are based on total property value. So yes, a townhouse could be more taxes if its worth more. A 1000 sqft penthouse condo could be worth 2 million and a 3000 sqft single family house in the same town could be worth $200k and would have dramatically different tax bills.
When in doubt, pull the tax cards. Look at every detail and you will find your answer.
**i live in IL and a western suburb located in cook county
so me and my guy we thought we found a great home, a relatively newer townhouse built in 2011. Come to find out land assessment was 15k but the home features 1.3ksf, 3 bed 2 bath, basement, and 2 car garage. taxes on each individual home was $8,051. read a few listings that mentioned a figure around that but thought maybe it was an error or they could be basing the taxes off all 4 homes and we all split the costs or possibly the costs would be split by the home conjoined to the one i would be buying. i ended up making a phone call to the county treasure department in which it was confirmed. the man i spoke to didnt even believe the tax amount and ended up checking the next door townhome and said they had separate pins and that place was paying the same 8k tax amount. told my realtor to withdraw my offer and he was shocked and wants to double himself now because it didnt make sense to him
its very odd the taxes are that high because NONE of the other townhomes in the area nor in the better "uppity" areas are even remotely that high, single family homes dont even have property taxes that high around me so i dont get it
**there isnt any back taxes owed either
BUUUUT it leaves me with the only 2 possible questions. do newer homes/townhouses/condos have much higher property tax than older ones? and/or do some townhouses simply just have really high property taxes?
Taxes are based on the price you pay for the property and the local tax rate. It should not matter if it's a single family home or a townhouse, I don't know if condos are taxed differently. A neighbor who paid $25K many years ago for a townhouse will be paying less than you buying the one next door for $400K. Some places have reassessments to increase their tax to a fair rate. Also a relative can sell you a home for $10K but it that is not the assessed rate you will be paying the tax rate of current assessed value.
Cook county has Chicago county tax rates, that's why you are paying so much, you are paying for schools, and the infrastructure and the government programs as well as the pensions for police fire and teachers unions. If I were you I would find a home in a neighboring county that may have lower tax rates.
Welcome to Illinois! That's why we left! But on a serious note.....Some townhouses can have higher property taxes then SF homes. It depends on the purchase price, square footage and town tax rate. Cook County, especially in the western suburbs have extremely high property taxes! If you told us what town I might be able to give more advice.
Also, a lot of towns in the SW suburbs have what's called SSA's. This means the original owner got a break on the sales price from the town when building and then it's paid back through your property taxes! It does transfer to a new buyer as well and can be assessed up to 15 years! Also make sure you're all the exemptions are given!
the bank had accepted our offer of 75k (cash) and the the home is worth 160k but i cant see myself paying over 5k worth in taxes thats bound to increase. plus reselling will likely be a bit difficult because of the high taxes
the bank had accepted our offer of 75k (cash) and the the home is worth 160k
but i cant see myself paying over 5k worth in taxes...
No doubt. I wouldn't go even that high.
1% of FMV is a reasonable "par" to target.
That will commonly mean a tax assessment below FMV and a higher mil rate...
but the math comes out the same... eg: $160,000 x 1% = $1600/yr; at 2% = $3200/yr
Some areas require a bit more; especially if there is a separate muni number.
But many still rather nice areas with a decent level of services are less.
In my current area the total mil rate (.07310 + 0.585) = 1.316
And the assessed value is about 20% below FMV.
In Baltimore County MD where I'm from the rates are lower; ~ 1.10
But with more frequent appraisals the tax value is closer to FMV.
Last edited by MrRational; 02-05-2017 at 06:30 AM..
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