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Evidence

How Illinois assessments are built, where they go wrong, and what an owner can actually do about it. 90 articles, written to be useful to somebody who then does it themselves.

AppealsBasicsEvidenceExemptionsIllinoisSituations clear

How to find comparable properties for a tax appeal Start from the county's own records, not from what you know about the neighbourhood. Evidence · 2 min What makes a comparable good enough to use Similarity on recorded attributes, proximity, and nothing clever. Four tight ones beat twenty loose. Evidence · 2 min Using your county's parcel search like an assessor would Every Illinois county publishes a searchable roll. Most owners never open theirs. Evidence · 2 min Assessed value per square foot: the number that makes comparisons possible Raw assessments cannot be compared. Rates can. Evidence · 2 min Why a Zestimate will not help your appeal Automated values are not accepted as evidence of value, and boards say so out loud. Evidence · 2 min When paying for an appraisal is worth it A few hundred dollars against a multi-year saving — the arithmetic is usually clear either way. Evidence · 2 min Documenting a factual error in your property record The easiest win available, and it needs evidence rather than argument. Evidence · 2 min Where to find recent sales data free County recorder, assessor sales files, and IDOR declarations — no subscription needed. Evidence · 2 min The valuation date: why last month's sale may be the wrong evidence An assessment speaks to a specific date. Evidence has to speak to the same one. Evidence · 2 min Building an evidence packet a board can actually use One page of argument, one table, and the records behind it. In that order. Evidence · 2 min Using photographs as evidence Photographs prove condition and prove absence. Both are worth more than description. Evidence · 2 min Adjusting comparables when nothing matches exactly Small differences can be adjusted for. Large ones mean you picked the wrong comparable. Evidence · 2 min How many comparables you actually need Three to five tight ones. More is not stronger, and it is often weaker. Evidence · 2 min How to read a property record card The county's full description of your house, and the single best place to find a winnable error. Evidence · 2 min Writing the appeal so it is decided in your favour on paper Many appeals never get a hearing. Write as though yours will not. Evidence · 2 min

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