Frequently Asked Questions

What counties/ jurisdictions is REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM now accepting Evaluations and processing appeals?

Cook County.

How long does it take to complete my Property Tax Assessment Evaluation?

It can take half an hour for an evaluation of Residential Home, Condo, Townhome, Apartments consisting of less than six units, and vacant land. Commercial, Apartments of six or more units, and mixed use properties on average take approximately an hour depending on the number of units.

Why should I be concerned about a reassessment of my property?

Depending on your county location, property tax assessment authorities determine the value of a property every year or every three years. For example if your property is located within Cook County, Illinois, the Township Assessor will assign a value to your property every three years. This means the value assigned to your property may increase astronomically, depending on the Assessor’s computations. However, if a taxpayer protests the over-assessment of a property the first year and wins his or her appeal, one can achieve reduction in assessment automatically for a period of years. In Cook County for example, the taxpayer would generate tax savings for all three years. Real Estate Tax Master keeps up with this information and helps you take advantage of any potential savings whether your property is located in a reassessment zone or non-reassessment zone.

Do I have to appeal every year?

It depends on several factors. Basically, you should come to our site annually and perform an EVALUATION because your property assessment may be uniform, but a decline in the market value of your property may have occurred in a given year which warrants an assessment far less than the current assessment. Conversely, the assessments in your neighborhood may have decreased for similar types of properties and your property’s assessment is not uniform to the neighboring properties, or your property may have been reassessed and the reassessment resulted in an unfair increase in assessment.The Real Estate Tax Master’s EVALUATION will automatically perform several key analysis to examine these above mentioned factors and their impact on your tax assessments.

Does it make sense to get a property appraisal?

If the level of assessments in your neighborhood are uniform, in other words, there is no disparity between the amount of assessment of your property and your neighbors, it is important to investigate whether properties similar to yours have sold in your area which warrant a reduction in your assessment. The Real Estate Tax Master’s EVALUATION will automatically perform a market analysis for you and tell you whether obtaining an appraisal would increase the success of your tax assessment protest.

How much do appraisals cost?

It depends on the appraiser, Real Estate Tax Master does not control or cap the rates that appraisers listed on our directory charge. An appraiser is a professional. A professional’s fee is usually reflective of the number of years of experience, the type of property which is the subject of the appraisal report, the complexity of the assignment. It is not uncommon to see fees of $250 to $450 for a single family residence.

Can my taxes go up as a result of protesting and appealing my tax assessments?

This is highly unlikely especially if our Evaluation gives you a thumbs-up for appeal. By taking our evaluation, you are dramatically reducing the chances that your taxing authority is disclosed information which is damaging to the success of your appeal. The Evaluation is therefore risk free as it is confidential and does not involve disclosing information to tax assessing authorities. Nevertheless, with the exception of reviews taken by tax assessors and tax assessing authorities of your protest, most tax reviewing administrative agencies or courts do not have a personal stake in the outcome of your case and are likely to give favorable results or just deny relief all together. It is highly unlikely that they would increase your tax assessment.

Is it possible that my property tax bill may increase despite the fact that I file an appeal and win my tax appeal?

Taxes are calculated based upon a formula.( (Tax Assessment) X (local property Tax Rate) X (State Equalizer or Multiplier)). Other than assessments, the state equalization factor and local tax rate for property taxes are factors that affect your tax bill. The state equalization factor and local tax rate are subject to change each year. If your taxing authorities dramatically increase these rates, then irrespective of your appeal, you may experience higher taxes or not really see much of a change in your tax bill. However, if you do nothing to attempt to reduce your tax assessments, you can only imagine that your tax bill would be astronomically higher than usual. Therefore, you can keep your tax liability low by protesting your tax assessment.

Will the County send me a refund of my tax savings?

Tax savings do not always result in a refund. Most often a winning tax appeal will reduce the assessment and result in a lower tax bill. You are only refunded tax savings when your tax account for the year that you appealed was actually overpaid. Overpayments occur more often in counties that have two installment tax bills. In that instance the taxpayer’s payment of the first installment bill may be greater than the annual tax liability. See below example of a resulting refund to the tax payer.

An apartment building owner is protesting taxes for year 2013 (the current year)

After passing an Evaluation by the Real Estate Tax Master, the Owner/ taxpayer decides to authorize an appeal processed thru the Property Tax Appeal Center.An appeal is filed in the Fall 2013. The first installment for 2013 is Due March 1, 2014. The 1^st Installment is 55% of the previous years bill (2012) The taxesfor 2012 were $10,000. Of which the owner paid $5500.

REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM’s attorney obtains a drastic reduction in the owner’s assessments. The Results of the Tax Appeal is publicized in February.. The Taxing authorities will not determine the tax rate for 2013 until later in the Summer of 2014. The Tax bill for 2013 based on the newly certified assessments is suggested to be $4000 for the entire year. When the actual Tax bill for second installment comes out in September 2014, the amount due will be $0 because the payment made in Dec. more than covered the actual 2013 tax liability. Thus an overpayment of $1500 will be refunded to the taxpayer by the Cook County Treasurer.

I won my tax appeal thru the efforts of REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM’s attorney,, when will I be billed the percentage of 25% of my tax savings? Will this happen before or after I receive my actual tax bill?

You are billed prior to the final tax bill publication and payment is charged to your credit card at the same time that REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM sends notice of your appeal results and tax savings. Your appeal results can be found on your user control panel under the heading Results and actually demonstrates how your tax savings are calculation and estimates your tax bill based on your new assessment and latest publicized local tax rate and state multiplier.

What is the difference between a protest and a tax appeal?

Both terms are used interchangeably and refer to the process of challenging the assessed value of your real estate by the county assessor or appraiser.

Do I need to go to a court or meet with taxing authorities?

No you do not have to meet with tax assessing or township officials. In most cases of review of your assessment, you do not have to make any appearances.

REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM encages attorney representatives for you. When you agree to pursue an appeal it is thru the representation of REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM’s attorneys.

Does filing an appeal entitle me to a refund?

No, most appeals don’t involve a refund as they produce tax savings for the tax year you appeal.

Do I pay any court costs?

In most counties NO. Cook County IL has no filing costs to pursue property tax assessment appeals.

If my tax appeal is filed at the assessor or township appraiser level and receives a negative result, do I have any chance to seek a review of my assessment with another agency?

Yes, sometimes seeking relief from the government officials that create assessments may feel like going to the King and begging for a pardon. Assessors are notorious for wanting to justify or stand by the values they ascribe to your property. You can seek a review at a second tier agency or court. In most cases, the worst thing that can happen is that you get a result which is zero reduction in tax assessment. Thus, your bill remains the same.

What type of property appeals is the Real Estate Tax Master equipped to process?

Residential Buildings Single Family Residences, Townhomes (individual units only) , Condominium Units (Individual Unit Owners only), Two-Five Unit Apartment Buildings.

APARTMENT BUILDINGS consisting of six units or more, Mixed-Use Properties consisting of Residential Apartments and Stores or Residential Apartments and Offices.

Free standing Commercial Buildings, Strip Centers, Office Buildings. Shopping Centers.

Are there any types of property tax appeals that the Real Estate Tax Master is not equipped to process?

Condominium Complex Associations, Nursing Homes, Medical Facilities, Hospitals, Industrial buildings, any special use property such as a Marina, Graveyard, Airplane Hanger, Greenhouse.

Is REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM a law firm?

No,REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM does not practice law. REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM engages attorneys who are independent contractors to file your appeal. REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM is the creator of software and tools that assist in processing of legal solutions and is the name of the company that owns Real Estate Tax Master.Com. REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM’s Property Tax Appeal Center produces paperwork necessary for tax appeals thru the use of its software and collaboration with the customer at the user interface, known as the Property Tax Appeal Center of REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM.

What is the Property Tax Appeal Center?

The Property Tax Appeal Center is the user interface of Real Estate Tax Master. Com which permits an exchange of documents, uploads and submissions for the production of tax appeal packages. It is not a governmental agency where documents are lodged or an official place of filing. REALESTATETAXMASTER.COM sends your package to attorneys for filing with appropriate authorities.

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