Appeal with the Board of Review (BOR)
This appeal must occur within a thirty (30) day period after the publication of your township’s assessments in a newspaper having general circulation in the township (Northwest Herald for Burton Township). The Supervisor of Assessments authorizes this publication after that office has received the books from the local township assessor and it can include any multiplier. This should occur each year in the late summer to early winter. You will appeal the fair market value of your property as of January 1 of that year. The two most common reasons for appeal are: market value (sales of other comparable homes), equity (your assessment is higher than other similar properties in your subdivision/neighborhood).
Since this is a more formal appeal, you will be required to fill out an appeal form AND SUBMIT IT TO THE COUNTY, not to the township assessor. For a complete description of McHenry County’s Board of Review rules and to download complaint forms please visit the McHenry County Website, Assessment department.
After the county assessment office has received your appeal application within the required thirty day allotted window, the Board of Review will schedule a hearing date for you to appear along with the local township assessor. You as well as the assessor will be given the opportunity to present each of their supporting evidence of the assessed value that they believe to be accurate. In most instances, I will contact you prior to the hearing, present my findings and hopefully come to a fair agreement with you to avoid either parties attending hearing. If this does not happen, The McHenry County Board of Review will schedule a hearing.
The following lists outlines some of the documentation (not inclusive) that should be helpful in this appeal process:
- Recent sale price of the property being appealed
- Appraisal of subject property within a year of the assessment year
- List of market sales of comparable properties (3-5), in the same condition
- List of assessments of similar properties (3-5) within your neighborhood/subdivision
The appeal hearings generally last 15 minutes for residential properties and approximately 30 minutes for commercial properties. The Board of Review will notify you of their decision in writing. Their decision will either uphold the local assessor’s value or adjust the assessed value to a different number.
Formal Appeal with the Property Tax Appeals Board
If a property owner is in disagreement with the assessed value after the findings of the Board of Review or if the Board of Review assigns a multiplier to the property, then the next level of recourse is with the Property Tax Appeal Board. Please note that you must have exhausted other avenues of appeal before going to PTAB, i.e., you must be contesting a Board of Review value. You have thirty (30) days from the date of the Board of Review’s written notice to appeal to the Property Tax Appeal Board. Appeals must be filed on the prescribed PTAB form within this thirty day window. For a full description of the requirements to file with this State Board please go to their website.