DePaul arena construction contract: What's the delay?

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So what percentage is the sales tax. I spend lots of time in Tenneessee (Knoxville area) and some places the sales tax is as much as 13%-15%.

7%

[warriorchick]

So what percentage is the sales tax. I spend lots of time in Tenneessee (Knoxville area) and some places the sales tax is as much as 13%-15%.

Not sure where you are getting the 13-15% figure from for Tennessee.  The max is 9.75%.

Meanwhile, Chicago's is 9.25%, state income tax is another 5%, and property taxes are at least 3 to 4 times higher.

[Tugg Speedman]

Not sure where you are getting the 13-15% figure from for Tennessee.  The max is 9.75%.

Meanwhile, Chicago's is 9.25%, state income tax is another 5%, and property taxes are at least 3 to 4 times higher.

Residential property taxes In Chicago are very reasonable. Often running less than 1% of market value, less than half of what you see in the Chicago suburbs are many other major cities.   This is one reason why housing prices in Chicago are so high. In the Lincoln Park area around Depaul, $2 to $3 million for a decent house north of $4 million for a nice house (with a some in the $8 to $10 million range, and one at $25 million).  Empty lots (and tear downs) run north of $1.5 million now.

So yes Chicago screws you with taxes all over the place. But not your property taxes.

[MU82]

Residential property taxes In Chicago are very reasonable. Often running less than 1% of market value, less than half of what you see in the Chicago suburbs are many other major cities.   This is one reason why housing prices in Chicago are so high. In the Lincoln Park area around Depaul, $2 to $3 million for a decent house north of $4 million for a nice house (with a some in the $8 to $10 million range, and one at $25 million).  Empty lots (and tear downs) run north of $1.5 million now.

So yes Chicago screws you with taxes all over the place. But not your property taxes.

Hmmm.

I moved from Chicago to Charlotte. The house I own in Charlotte now cost $230K in 2011 and is probably worth around $265K today. The same house on the same size lot where we used to live in the Chicago neighborhood we used to live (Lakeview) would have cost $2 million easily. We pay about $2800 in property taxes. The same house on the same lot in Chicago, our property taxes would have been tens of thousands of dollars. (They were $8000 on our condo back in 2004.)

So yeah, I guess in relation to value, one could argue property taxes are lower in Chicago. But if the exact same house on the exact same lot would cost 10 times as much and taxes would be "only" 8 times as much, I don't think Chicago merits a thumbs-up for its "low" property taxes.

[warriorchick]

Hmmm.

I moved from Chicago to Charlotte. The house I own in Charlotte now cost $230K in 2011 and is probably worth around $265K today. The same house on the same size lot where we used to live in the Chicago neighborhood we used to live (Lakeview) would have cost $2 million easily. We pay about $2800 in property taxes. The same house on the same lot in Chicago, our property taxes would have been tens of thousands of dollars. (They were $8000 on our condo back in 2004.)

So yeah, I guess in relation to value, one could argue property taxes are lower in Chicago. But if the exact same house on the exact same lot would cost 10 times as much and taxes would be "only" 8 times as much, I don't think Chicago merits a thumbs-up for its "low" property taxes.

Exactly.

[Tugg Speedman]

Hmmm.

I moved from Chicago to Charlotte. The house I own in Charlotte now cost $230K in 2011 and is probably worth around $265K today. The same house on the same size lot where we used to live in the Chicago neighborhood we used to live (Lakeview) would have cost $2 million easily. We pay about $2800 in property taxes. The same house on the same lot in Chicago, our property taxes would have been tens of thousands of dollars. (They were $8000 on our condo back in 2004.)

So yeah, I guess in relation to value, one could argue property taxes are lower in Chicago. But if the exact same house on the exact same lot would cost 10 times as much and taxes would be "only" 8 times as much, I don't think Chicago merits a thumbs-up for its "low" property taxes.

But relative is exactly how it should be measured. 

Property taxes on a Lake or Dupage county $2 million dollar home will be twice a $2 million dollar home in Chicago.  mcHenry is three times.

So if you're in the market for a $2 million dollar home, and property taxes matter then look at Chicago.  ($40 to $45k in Dupage versus $25k in Chicago)

Without getting sidetracked, my larger point is Chicago taxes you to death on my fronts (sales tax, gas, entertainment taxes, parking taxes, etc) but property taxes is not one of those areas.

[warriorchick]

But relative is exactly how it should be measured. 

Property taxes on a Lake or Dupage county $2 million dollar home will be twice a $2 million dollar home in Chicago.  mcHenry is three times.

So if you're in the market for a $2 million dollar home, and property taxes matter then look at Chicago.  ($40 to $45k in Dupage versus $25k in Chicago)

Without getting sidetracked, my larger point is Chicago taxes you to death on my fronts (sales tax, gas, entertainment taxes, parking taxes, etc) but property taxes is not one of those areas.

If you have kids, the money you have to spend on private school tuition is likely to more than make up the difference.

[Tugg Speedman]

If you have kids, the money you have to spend on private school tuition is likely to more than make up the difference.

That is true, very true.

But Chicago has a magnet school program and some of those schools are excellent, Whitney Young, Northside Prep, Walter Payton and even Lincoln Park High are as good as any top notch suburban high school.  Of course they are magnet schools and entry is not guaranteed.

The charter schools, which almost 20% of Chicago kids attend, are also very good.  The catholic schools (st. Ignatius, Mother Aucauley, St. Rita, Gordon Tech) are also good.

Traditional Chicago Public Schools (CPS), about as bad as they come.

[MU82]

That is true, very true.

But Chicago has a magnet school program and some of those schools are excellent, Whitney Young, Northside Prep, Walter Payton and even Lincoln Park High are as good as any top notch suburban high school.  Of course they are magnet schools and entry is not guaranteed.

The charter schools, which almost 20% of Chicago kids attend, are also very good.  The catholic schools (st. Ignatius, Mother Aucauley, St. Rita, Gordon Tech) are also good.

Traditional Chicago Public Schools (CPS), about as bad as they come.

My kids were part of Payton's second and third graduating classes. Each received a great education.

As for property taxes ... if we ever move back and are ready to buy a $2 million house, I will take your advice and definitely will look in the city vs. in Lake or DuPage counties! What is the Powerball prize this weekend?

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

That is true, very true.

But Chicago has a magnet school program and some of those schools are excellent, Whitney Young, Northside Prep, Walter Payton and even Lincoln Park High are as good as any top notch suburban high school.  Of course they are magnet schools and entry is not guaranteed.

The charter schools, which almost 20% of Chicago kids attend, are also very good.  The catholic schools (st. Ignatius, Mother Aucauley, St. Rita, Gordon Tech) are also good.

Traditional Chicago Public Schools (CPS), about as bad as they come.

I dunno, CPS public high schools have made some strides. I'm a CPS product (granted I went to Northside) but a CPS product none the less. My parents were never a fan of charter schools and I was never going to go to a private high school.

[brandx]

I dunno, CPS public high schools have made some strides. I'm a CPS product (granted I went to Northside) but a CPS product none the less. My parents were never a fan of charter schools and I was never going to go to a private high school.

I think it is all about whether parents are involved rather than the school itself.

[Benny B]

But relative is exactly how it should be measured. 

Property taxes on a Lake or Dupage county $2 million dollar home will be twice a $2 million dollar home in Chicago.  mcHenry is three times.

So if you're in the market for a $2 million dollar home, and property taxes matter then look at Chicago.  ($40 to $45k in Dupage versus $25k in Chicago)

Without getting sidetracked, my larger point is Chicago taxes you to death on my fronts (sales tax, gas, entertainment taxes, parking taxes, etc) but property taxes is not one of those areas.

Are you talking $2M of market value or $2M of assessed value?  That said, most people in Cook County probably have no clue how much their home is worth let alone whether it's fairly assessed.

[brandx]

Are you talking $2M of market value or $2M of assessed value?  That said, most people in Cook County probably have no clue how much their home is worth let alone whether it's fairly assessed.

Same as anywhere else.

[Chili]

Not sure where you are getting the 13-15% figure from for Tennessee.  The max is 9.75%.

Meanwhile, Chicago's is 9.25%, state income tax is another 5%, and property taxes are at least 3 to 4 times higher.

Income tax drops 1.75% on Jan 1, 2015 and will be 3.25%.

[chapman]

So what percentage is the sales tax. I spend lots of time in Tenneessee (Knoxville area) and some places the sales tax is as much as 13%-15%.

Know a couple of people on the TN/VA border who deal with that - TN has no income tax, VA has much lower sales tax - it's rough for the states to push economic development there since everyone wants to work in TN but spend their money in VA.

[warriorchick]

Income tax drops 1.75% on Jan 1, 2015 and will be 3.25%.

We will see if that really ends up happening.  Let's hope Rauner keeps his promise.

Even so, 3.25%>0%

[Benny B]

Same as anywhere else.

True, but Cook County makes it especially hard.  Most places in the US (including every IL county except Cook) assessed value is indexed as a flat percentage of market value, in our case 33.3%.  I can't even tell you the formula for determining Cook County assessments off hand, and I deal with property assessments all over the country.  Cook County by far has the most confusing assessment process I know of, residential or commercial... and it's no secret that if people don't understand their assessment, they might bitch and moan about the end result, but they rarely appeal it.

Nevertheless, most homes in the US are still overassessed (overvalued) even though fair values have mostly recovered from the recession, and incidentally, the more populous an area you live in, the more likely (and drastically) you are of being overassessed.  So couple that with Cook County's process, and I'm not sure that "low" or "fair" are appropriate adjectives for property taxes on either a relative or absolute basis.

[Tugg Speedman]

True, but Cook County makes it especially hard.  Most places in the US (including every IL county except Cook) assessed value is indexed as a flat percentage of market value, in our case 33.3%.  I can't even tell you the formula for determining Cook County assessments off hand, and I deal with property assessments all over the country.  Cook County by far has the most confusing assessment process I know of, residential or commercial... and it's no secret that if people don't understand their assessment, they might bitch and moan about the end result, but they rarely appeal it.

Nevertheless, most homes in the US are still overassessed (overvalued) even though fair values have mostly recovered from the recession, and incidentally, the more populous an area you live in, the more likely (and drastically) you are of being overassessed.  So couple that with Cook County's process, and I'm not sure that "low" or "fair" are appropriate adjectives for property taxes on either a relative or absolute basis.

Cannot find the link but a few years back The Economist magazine did a story on cook county property taxes saying they are the most complicated and byzantine in the developed world.

I think that is by design so the politically connected can "legally engineer" themselves paying little to no taxes.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-08-04/news/9808040279_1_property-tax-property-taxes-penalties