A problem familiar to Californians

Property Tax Policy Exacerbates Problems

Glen who sent me one of the links writes ...

Cook, Lake, and DuPage counties have some of the highest property tax rates in the nation, higher than California and parts of New York/New Jersey! By and large, these counties have so far refused to lower actual absolute tax amounts on individual properties consistent with the real decline in market value.

This situation that has effectively raised property tax rates for thousands of homes by 1%+ and translates into real annual tax rates of 2.5%-5% of actual market value!

This is a powerful and devastating anchor on rental property cash flows for every property rented in these counties regardless of the purchase price, financing terms, or rental management challenges that owners face.

We have the same problem, mainly that the property tax system is rigged such that getting downward assessments is very difficult and expensive, but getting upward assessments is automatic.