July 28, 2022
2022 AVON Township Assessment Notices
2022 assessment notices will be mailed out this week for property owners in Avon Township. The assessment will also be published July 28th, 2022, in the Lake County Journal. As of the date of publication, 2022 values will be available online.
The final filing date for assessment appeals in Avon Township is Monday, August 29th, 2022. Property owners that decide to appeal must do so electronically. Property owners can appeal their assessment on their own through the Lake County Board of Review. Appeals can be done in a few minutes by using the new SmartFile E-Filing Portal.
Reasons to Appeal
The typical bases or reasons for appeals are:
• The assessment of a subject property is based on a factual error (e.g., incorrect square footage).
• The assessment is greater than 1/3rd of the subject property’s recent sale price.
• The assessment is greater than 1/3rd of the subject property’s market value.
• The assessment of the subject property is higher than that of comparable properties.
• Matters of law.
Appeal Information
Prior to filing a formal appeal to the Board of Review, read, understand, and check your notice for accuracy. Property owners should contact Avon Township Assessor’s Office to discuss their concerns. Please call our office ahead of time (847) 546-2146 to make an appointment or you can email us @ [email protected]
Note that there is a 30-day deadline from the date of publication to file an assessment appeal.
How to File an Appeal
On the Lake County SmartFile E-Filing login page (https://www.lakecountyil.gov/551/Online-Appeal-Filing), create an account or log in to your existing account.
You will be directed to a portal where you can complete the entire appeal process. Watch this video or view these printable instructions (PDF) to learn how to file an appeal online. When you have entered all the information required for your appeal, be sure to go to the section labeled submit, type in your name, and press the submit button. You will receive an email confirmation that your appeal has been received.\ All appeal hearings that are requested as “in-person” will be conducted through the Zoom meeting platform.
How to Evaluate Your Assessment
You just received your assessment notice and you feel there may be a problem. How do you evaluate your new assessment to determine if it is fair, accurate, and uniform? The main source for information is on the Lake County website. Do not forget, my staff here at the Avon Villa Township Assessor’s Office and I are here to help you. For assistance with any issue, contact my office (847) 546-2146.
The Lake County web site has a vast amount of assessment related data available. For example; a report can be created gathering all the characteristics about your property, or comparison grids of assessment and sale can be created, and the forms for the Board of Review are on line, as well as information on how the assessment process works. Instructions for the use of the Lake County Assessment Comparison Grid can be found in the “how to … instructions” section. Assessment Information and Comparison Grid Instructions
Reasons to make an Appeal
- Factual Error – Property Characteristics
This type of case involves questions on the accuracy of property characteristics used by the township assessor in the assessment process. The types of questions that might arise in this area are the actual living area of the home, number of bathrooms, size of the basement, total land area, etc. For additional information, see the Board’s Rules, Section IV A. - Recent Purchase of Property
In this case you may have a 2020 or 2021 sale that you would like the Board of Review to consider as evidence of fair cash value for January 1, 2021. There are a series of required questions related to the transaction, along with the ability to upload sales documentation including the signed and completed Settlement Statement or the Closing Disclosures and Summaries of Transactions for the Board’s considerations. For additional information, see the Board’s Rules, Section IV B. - Recent Appraisal
In this case, you have a real estate appraisal that you would like the Board of Review to consider as evidence of fair cash value for January 1, 2021. The ability to upload the appraisal is provided. If your appraisal is yet to be completed, you will be reminded of the Board’s deadlines for your document. For additional information, see the Board’s Rules, Section IV C. - Recent Sales Comparables
This case involves the submission of comparable properties that have recently sold using the Lake County Comparable Property Grid. Generally, the key metric in these cases is to compare the sale price per AGLA of the submitted comparables to the market value per AGLA of the subject property. Remember that the Board of Review will be looking for the best comparable sales evidence in determining the fair cash value as of January 1, 2021. In performing your comparable search, be sure to look for properties that are similar to yours. For additional information, see the Board’s Rules, Section IV C. - Equity of Assessment Comparables
This case involves the submission of comparable properties using the Lake County Comparable Property Grid. Generally, the key metric in these cases is to compare the building assessment per AGLA of the subject to the building assessments per AGLA of the submitted comparables. In making their decision, the Board of Review will be considering the notable differences between the subject property and comparables so be sure to look for properties that are similar to yours. For additional information, see the Board’s Rules, Section IV D. - Matter of Law and Other
This type of case generally involves legal issues. This selection allows you to upload a legal brief, or the option to paste text into the box provided. For additional information, see the Board’s Rules, Section IV E
Additional Information for Appeals
Property Characteristics
The first place to start when evaluating your assessment is to verify the property characteristics on which your assessment is based. The type of items to look for are dimensions of your home used to compute it size, basement area, basement finish, number of bathrooms, fireplaces, air conditioning, etc. If you find an error, it is a simple process for my office to correct the error and change the assessed value accordingly – we actually like correcting errors.
Where to find Property Characteristics
There are two main sources for this information. The first is the property record card maintained by my office. Owners are encouraged to review their card. It is a detailed record noting sales history, assessment history, land and building information, and valuation detail. The other main source is the Lake County web site. By inputting your PIN or address a property report is generated. The report provides the current assessment, the drawing and dimensions of your home, and the characteristics mentioned above.
http://www.tax.lakecountyil.gov/forms/htmlframe.aspx?mode=content/home.htm
Living Area – Square Footage
The main characteristic used to determine your assessed value is square footage of your home. We use the external dimensions of your property to compute its size. Our intent was to find and correct any errors in the external dimensions. However, if you feel there is an error contact my office and we can re-inspect your property.
Number of Bedrooms
A common misconception is the value is based on the number of bedrooms. This is not true. Bedrooms can be a large or small as a homeowner chooses. For our purposes bedroom count is an informational data field.
Uniformity Appeal
One of the most important aspect in assessing property is equal treatment between properties to equability distribute the tax burden or simply uniformity. I if you live in a “model A” in a subdivision, another person living down the street in the same model should be assessed alike. The Lake County web site provides the ability to check uniformity. The detailed instructions are found via “Assessment Information and Comparison Grid Instructions” heading. From the County web site three properties can be compared in a grid format. For each property, fields such as living square footage, age, total market value and price per square foot can be compared. It is important to try to stay within your immediate neighborhood and try to find houses that are the most similar to yours. For example, if you live in a 1 story home, compare only to other 1 story homes. You can contact my office for further information.
Sales of Similar Homes
If there are recent sales of similar homes in your area and those sales prices are less than your current assessed value, then you may deserve a reduction to the range indicated by the sale prices. Again, the Lake County web site provides the ability to find recent sales. The detailed instructions are found via this link “Assessment Information and Comparison Grid Instructions” heading. From the County web site three properties can be compared in a grid format. For each property, fields such as living square footage, age, total market value and sale price per square foot can be compared. It is important to try to stay within your immediate area (neighborhood) and try to find houses that are the most similar to yours.
Recent Purchase Price
If you have recently purchased your property and the Assessor’s estimate of market value is greater than the sale price, an assessment reduction maybe warranted. My office will verify the transaction is a fair market, arms–length sale and the parcel were sold on the open market. Again, contact my office for assistance. We will not go to your sale price because one sale doesn’t tell us what the market is.
Recent Appraisal
If you had a recent appraisal of your property and the Assessor’s estimate of market value is greater than the appraised value, an assessment reduction may be warranted. My office will want to review the appraisal to ensure there are proper adjustments and to verify the comparable properties utilized. Please provide a copy to our office for review. Make note that a refi appraisal is not the same as an appraisal for assessment.