How it works
Plain rules, shown math, and a clear line on what we do and don't do.
1. You type an address
We look the home up in Cook County's open data: its assessed value, living area, year built and class, and the other homes in its assessor neighborhood. Nothing is kept unless you save it.
2. We run two checks
Uniformity. The building assessed value per square foot of living area of similar homes in your neighborhood, against yours. A home should not carry a heavier share of the assessment than its neighbors.
Sales comparison. Recent arm's-length sales of similar homes in your neighborhood, as a price per square foot of living area, applied to your home's size, against the Assessor's market value (assessed value times 10).
Comparable homes are the same class and neighborhood, within 25% of your living area and 15 years of your year built. Sales are arm's-length sales in the last 24 months, with transfers between relatives, bulk sales and prices far from the assessor's value left out. Market value is the assessed value times 10. A check says "over-assessed" at 6% or more, and needs at least 3 comparables.
3. You decide, and you file
The verdict is free. If you want the evidence laid out the way the Assessor's form asks for it, the packet is $39, once. This packet organizes public Cook County Assessor data about your property and nearby comparable properties. You are the appellant. You decide whether to file, what to claim and which comparables to rely on, and you file the appeal yourself.
What we can't tell you
- What is inside your house. Condition, repairs and finishes are not in public data, and they matter.
- Whether the Assessor or the Board of Review will agree. Many appeals get a reduction and many get none.
- Anything about taxes other than a rough estimate. Your tax bill has the real rate.