7 Comments

We own a 2 flat in suburban cook county (Riverside) where our assessment went up 52%! Appealed the increase based on comps but my request was denied. We are looking looking at a 3-5k increase in property taxes per year on top of high taxes to begin with. We had already increased the rent which is locked in for 3 years and cannot raise it again because these are long term renters. What was meant to be passive income for retirement has turned into a cash cow. Will be forced to sell in 2024 if market improves. Thank you Fritz Kaegi ! Us tax payers get stuck paying for inefficiencies and wasteful spending in local and state government.

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Renata, thanks for sharing your story. A lot of real estate investors are getting caught with higher property taxes and not being able to raise the rent enough to cover those costs. You can appeal the appeal decisions all the way up, btw. You may just wish to hire an attorney to help you. (They typically take a percentage of the savings. Might be worth looking into.)

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I am surprised AZ did not make the list for the lowest taxes. It looks pretty good to me. check it out. On the insurance front. I agree!! I had a $200 to $300 increase over the past year in multiple areas. I tried to look for other companies and some would not insure due to the property had a roof more that 10 years old. The average roofs last about 20 years so what is the problem? Afraid of bad weather that will rip it off i guess. Some are not offering replacement guarantee protecting either. So shop wisely. We just had to raise our deductibles to cover the smaller cost ourselves to get a decent price. i i will have to pay for the small stuff. You can get deductibles for $1000 - $10,000 if you can afford to take the hit and only use the insurance for big stuff and you will get a much lower premium.

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Thanks, David, for a real-world example of what's already here when it comes to insurance. What's coming is going to be even more expensive.

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Hi, Ilyce. Big fan here---always try to catch you on WGN radio. Was wondering if you could cover, if you can, advice about probate court. My brother, who is terminally ill, refuses to make a will. We will then be facing probate when he passes. I have never been through this process and hear it is awful. Maybe you could give a run down of what to expect as our family enters that process? What are the pitfalls for us, what should we watch out for, how long does it all take, etc. THANK YOU. SHANNON SMITH

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I strongly suggest that research is done on your climate change data. There is a lot of false information attributing weather events to "climate change".

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Thanks, Sara. Whether you want to believe that climate change is being caused by man-made pollutants being pumped into the atmosphere or you think that the world is just undergoing a normal warming cycle, it's bad news for anyone trying to get an affordable insurance policy.

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