Greg K. in West Dundee: lost $197K in equity in a decade

Greg and his wife, Dorothy, sold their 3,850 square foot, five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath home located in West Dundee for $510,000 in June.

They bought the home in 2008 for $604,000, or $707,000 in today’s dollars.

Greg and Dorothy’s tax bill increased by 15 percent from 2008 to 2017 when it was to $14,223. They paid about $135,650 in property taxes over a 10 year period of West Dundee home ownership, or 26 percent of their final sales price.

Greg and Dorothy’s home value decreased by around 28 percent during their ownership while  property taxes increased by 15 percent.

Greg and Dorothy’s home value decreased by around 28 percent during their ownership while  property taxes increased by 15 percent.

Indiana has a hard 1 percent cap on property taxes. This means local governments are not allowed under state law to charge homeowner’s more than 1 percent of their home’s assessed value per year. The average property tax rate for the state of Indiana is 0.89 percent. Meanwhile the average property tax rate in Illinois is 2.3 percent.

If Greg’s home had been in Indiana the most he could have been charged in property taxes would have been around $4,444 per year or $9,779 less than what he last paid on his West Dundee home.