What We Do

Real estate taxes constitute one of the largest expense items in the budget of any building or family. Therefore, assessments must be contested vigorously throughout the assessment cycle. Assessments in the City of Chicago, Cook and the Chicagoland Collar Counties are based on a percentage (level of assessment) of fair market value. Therefore, the first step in reducing assessments is determining the fair market value upon which that assessment is based. The fair market value of property may be established in any of the following ways:

1. An arm’s length purchase; or
2. A recent land purchase and cost to construct an improvement; or
3. A well written, current appraisal; or
4. An analysis of the actual leasehold terms, rent, and operating expenses of income producing property. The analysis is then utilized to calculate a net operating income, which is capitalized by a rate of return, to produce an estimate of fair market value.

After determining fair market value, the evidence is presented, first to the Assessor’s Office, and then at the appropriate time, to the Board of Review (in Cook County). Outside of Cook County, evidence of value is either presented informally to the local township Assessor or more formally, at a hearing before the County Board of Review.

Mayster and Chaimson is a law firm specializing in real estate tax assessments and appeals for the greater Chicagoland area. All aspects of property tax assessments and filing of appeals is our specialty and we concentrate 100% of our efforts on achieving real estate tax savings for our commercial and residential clients. In focusing our efforts in this area, we believe our attorneys’ exceptional talents, real estate valuation knowledge and varied experiences achieve the best results.

After utilizing the two aforesaid administrative levels (Assessor and Board of Review), we can often obtain further relief for our clients by an appeal either to the State of Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB), or via a judicial remedy, commonly referred to as a Specific Objection to Value.

Utilizing the above blueprint will usually result in assessment relief. However, the key ingredient to obtaining assessment relief is the taxpayer’s counsel. We are the “hands-on” attorneys responsible for the fact/evidence gathering from our clients, analyzing that information to create an argument which will be successful in reducing the property’s value, and keeping track of deadlines and dates for presenting our evidence at each level in the assessment process. Our analysis is always tailored to fit our client’s factual situation.

We believe very strongly in oral hearings on cases whenever possible. Oral hearings give us the opportunity to not only present our case, but also to obtain feedback from the hearing officers. The feedback gives us an insight into the analysis that the officer feels is most appropriate for our property. Knowing the past analysis in a situation often provides a clear picture as to preparing a successful, current analysis. After our hearings, we review roughly 60% of all matters that we file at the Board of Review, to not only verify the analysis utilized by the Board, but also the parameters utilized in that analysis.

We are always attempting to provide the best analysis for maximizing our client’s valuation relief, with the ultimate goal of lowering their real estate tax bill.