Fuzzy math

I've only been a homeowner for about a year and four months. I figured that there would be a learning curve when it came to taking on this responsibility, but that I could eventually figure out all that I needed to know... except my property tax bill. The first year that we paid our bill (actually my mortgage company escrows the payment for us), the total came in two installments of about $1050 each, for a grand yearly total of about $2100. This was the amount that was expected based upon what the previous owner was paying. No surprises. The first half of this year yielded a payment of about $1050. Once again, no surprises. The second half of the year I received the other payment request and this time it was for about $2600. Surprise.

That brought our 2008 total to about $3750, about an 79% increase. Wait, it gets better. Instead of the payment being 1050 + 2600 = $3750 next year, it may be 2600 + 2600 = $5200. That would be a 148% increase of our original $2100. I called Susie, who represents the company who runs our condo association, and asked if this was correct. I was told that the association hired a lawyer and he was successful in getting the amount reduced and that the amount that we would have paid would have been even higher.

I did some searching around the Cook county assessor's webpage and think I found a few answers. Assessments are done every three years. One-third of the county is done during one year, the next third is assessed the second year, the last third assessed the third year. The cycle then repeats. The assessment that I am now paying is actually based upon an assessment done in 2007, which was probably when the real estate market peaked. The increase is therefore the difference between the assessed value in 2004 compared to the newly assessed 2007 value. I suppose it makes some sense, but it still doesn't make me feel any better. I'm probably going to give our condo association one more call. A 79-148% increase just doesn't sound right.

I'll leave you with a picture I found amusing. You can pay your property taxes through Chase Bank so they put out this little advertisement. Notice the woman handing over her check with a big smile on her face. She seams thrilled that she gets to hand over her money.

"Yay! I just got gouged on my tax bill!"