Lyons Township Residential Assessments Decrease by a Median of 18.65%

Saturday I received the dreaded property tax assessment with my proposed 2011 assessment. Every three years the assessor reassesses the property values. Reassessment notices contain proposed values that will be reflected on second-installment tax bills, which will be due in the fall of 2012. The mailing was for Lyons Township which is comprised of 33 neighborhoods in: Western Springs, La Grange, Hinsdale, Brookfield, Riverside, Lyons, Burr Ridge, Willow Springs, Indian Head Park, Countryside, McCook, Hodgkin, Summit, Justice, Bedford Park, Bridgeview, and Hickory Hills.

According to the Cook County Assessor’s office’s Web site, the Lyons Township reassessment findings included:

• Lyons is the eighth of 17 south suburban townships to be mailed during this triennial reassessment. 
• The median assessed value fell to 24,688 in 2011, from 30,857 in 2008, an 18.65% decline.
• The median sale price for single-family homes and other non-condo residential properties fell to $245,000 in 2010, from $290,000 in 2009 – a 15.5% decline.
• The proposed assessments of condominiums in Lyons Township reflect a median decrease of 21% in assessed value.

The mailings this year are newly designed and include the property information, assessment history, sample comparable properties, recorder of deed transactions and property tax history. The comparable properties can be a useful tool if you think your assessment is too high. Mine included six different properties with their 14 digit pin number so I could go to the Web site and look up all their information to do a full comparison. You can also do a search on the address if there is a house you would like to do a comparison to.

A helpful hint that I discovered while using the site; make sure you spell La Grange with the space between the A and the G or nothing will come up.

If you feel that your assessment is too high there are three ways you can go about filing an appeal.

1. Print off an appeals form, fill out and mail to the address on the top of the form or drop it off at the Lyons Township Assessors Office, 5540 East Ave., Countryside. They are open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and can be reached at (708) 485-4927.
2. File an appeal online.
3. Hire an attorney to file your exemption for you. Most law firms will file an appeal and only receive payment if your assessment is lowered. The average percentage is 33 to 50 percent of the amount you saved on your assessment.

Even though this assessment is for the fall 2012 tax installment, you only have until Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 to file your appeal. I tend to think I will be filing an appeal since my assessment went up by 10 percent in a township that the property appraiser claims went down an average of 18.65%. Fortunately there is a wealth of information on the Web site to get the research needed to make file an appeal.