We continue to work with the assessor and the appeal body to resolve appeals at the best opportunity. Works to increase chances of a successful appeal by bringing us in as the experts.
A Midwest-based manufacturer of electrical equipment protested the valuation of its 300,000 square foot Central Illinois facility to the county board of review and received a "no change" vote. It then protested further to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB), to preserve its rights.
After filing the protest, the manufacturer asked the National Bureau to become involved. We determined that the property was over-assessed, and created an appraisal report as evidence. The county asked the State of Illinois to do an appraisal on its behalf. We accompanied the state appraisers on the tour of the facility and used this opportunity to show them several other sales in the county that pointed to a reduced assessment. The state's final appraisal included these sales, and stated value almost the same as ours.
Without waiting for the PTAB hearing, the county conceded the over-assessment in a stipulation. While we got involved after the company had filed the appeal, we managed the appeal process proactively thereafter, which resulted in a 37% reduction in the assessment with an annual savings of over $30,000 per year. This was accomplished without the need for an attorney, because we found a way to resolve the case before the actual PTAB hearing took place.