Market Watch: Volvo Financial Services president loses $692K on Winnetka home
Illinois' highest-in-the-nation property taxes are eroding home equity and depressing home values across the state. This report is part of a North Cook News series on recent home sales that demonstrate the consequences.
The home: 607 Provident Ave. in Winnetka
It has five bedrooms, five baths, a butler's pantry that includes a beverage refrigerator, a mosaic marble bathtub in the master suite, a lower-level rec room and an artist's studio.
The sellers: John G Rakocy and Diane J Rakocy
The sellers: John G Rakocy and Diane J Rakocy
John Rakocy is the president of Volvo Financial Services in Asia and the Pacific. His wife, Diane, is a noted artist in the Chicago area who participated in the Chicago Lighthouse display along the Magnificent Mile last summer.
The purchase: In June 2007, John Rakocy paid $1.68 million for the home, or $2.03 million in today's dollars.
The sale: According to Zillow and Blockshopper, the Rakocys sold the home for $1.34 million on Dec. 20, or $692,332 less than the original purchase price, in today's dollars.
Rakocy originally listed the home for $1.65 million in October 2009 before removing it from the marketplace a month later. The home was relisted in February 2018 for $1.49 million.
The property taxes: The Rakocys paid $257,922 in property taxes while owning the home, or 19 percent of the sale price.
The bill in 2017 was $28,162, or 2 percent of the sale price.
