important things you should know

frequently asked Questions

All property owners!

Everyone should have an advocate on their side to ensure they are being properly assessed and taxed by the county assessor’s office.

The process to lower property taxes is to file an appeal with the county board review.  This is typically done by reviewing the county’s valuation of your property and comparing that valuation to similar recently-sold properties.  If the recently-sold properties sold for less than the county’s valuation of your property, Lake County Appeal will file the appeal. 

LCA has helped homeowners and commercial property owners since 2007.  Yearly, according to the Lake County Board of Review, we obtain significantly more reductions than our closest competitor. This resoundingly positions us ahead of all other property tax appeal firms operating in Lake County, IL.

At Lake County Appeal, we possess the knowledge capital to obtain significantly more reductions on even the most challenging appeals. Our tax appeal firm comprises local experienced real estate analysts, brokers, and legal advisors, all of whom utilize a plethora of resources, including a proprietary database.

Our team knows Lake County and Chicagoland as a whole. Over the years, we have developed deep-rooted experience that spans neighborhoods, schools, and townships. Combined with our strong relationships with county representatives and decision makers, it positions us ahead of the curve.

There are instances when a property owner can file his or her own appeal.  If considering this option, we highly recommend you read the most current rules of the county board of review to understand your rights and the process.

However, by hiring Lake County Appeal, the possibility of a successful appeal is significantly greater.  Our proprietary database, experience, access to data, and relationships across the area make LCA the better choice.  As an analogy, do you service your car or furnace twice a year? If so, why wouldn’t you also leave your property tax liability in the hands of qualified professionals?

Lake County Appeal is the largest and most successful property tax appeal firm in Lake County, Illinois! We obtain significantly more reductions than any other firm in Lake County, according to the Lake County Assessor’s office! Lake County Appeal has lowered market values for our clients by over $500,000,000!

  1. Click the Sign Up Now button and create an account with your contact and billing information. Returning clients should sign in with their username and password;
  2. Once the account has been verified and a password set, click the property search button and enter the ten-digit parcel number for your property (PIN);
  3. Click your cursor on the property address (a blue link), answer the questions and click add to  cart; and
  4. Go to the checkout, digitally sign the contract and enter payment information and click submit;
  5. You will then receive an email with a copy of the contract and another with your receipt. Our staff takes it from there!
 
For more information on our sign-up process, please refer to our     video on our Sign-Up page.

The assessment review is the first step in the property tax appeal process. 

During an assessment review, our team of Realtors and real estate analysts determines the correct property value by using the LCA proprietary database and their years of experience in the marketplace.

The next step is to have an attorney review the documentation and determine if an appeal is warranted.  If so, we file your appeal and complete all administration, documentation, hearings, and communication with the county.  [LCA will advise our client by email (or mail if our client doesn’t have email address) of our attorney’s determination.]

For more information on the assessment appeal process, visit our Assessment Appeal page.

To review our fee structure, please visit our Lake County Appeal Fees page.

Our fee structure is two parts…

  • A $65 upfront fee per property to conduct a property assessment review.*
  • A contingent fee of 37.5 % of the first year’s tax savings.**
 

Our team works together using our proprietary software to determine whether your property is fairly assessed.

If we find the property valuation to be unfair, we file the appeal at no additional cost. If the appeal is successful, we will collect 37.5% of the first year’s tax savings, while you retain the remaining 62.5%, as well as 100% of any subsequent years’ tax savings. (Note that tax savings end when the quadrennial assessment period ends.)

*There are no refunds after a 3-day grace period immediately following the time of sign-up.

** We determine your tax savings by taking your original assessment and subtracting your lowered assessment and multiplying the difference by the tax rate set forth on your property tax bill. 

We determine your tax savings by taking your original assessment, then subtracting your lowered assessment and multiplying the difference by the tax rate set forth on your property tax bill.

You will receive the result of your assessment review about one week prior to the appeal deadline for your township.  The deadline varies every year. Our communications are primarily by email, so be sure the emails are going into your inbox, and not to your spam folder.

Let’s begin.