Property taxes on the rise seem to be a direct, if not the sole cause, of foreclosures increasing significantly throughout Chicago, its suburbs, and Cook County, Illinois. Indeed, the number of total foreclosures increased by almost 200% between 2015 and 2016. The trend has not shown much improvement or signs of significant decreases so far in 2017.
Realtytrac.com conducted a thorough study of its own research data to watch and report on foreclosures in and around Chicago. Bank-owned homes in the research area were reported at nearly 2,400 in total, with just about 1,250 in total during the same month of the previous year. McHenry County to the northwest of the heart of the city peaked out at the most foreclosures per household – a ratio of 1 for every 642 unique properties; the average rate of foreclosure in Illinois, according to the research website, is roughly 1:1,100.
High Property Tax Hurts Everyone
With property taxes escalating in recent years throughout Illinois, homeownership is becoming even more of a pipedream for state residents, especially millennials. Finding livable wages and avoiding deep student loan debt is already the generation’s greatest economic challenge. Property taxes that gouge them significantly when compared to other states make it all the more difficult to afford a home and start a life there.
Since planting their feet into financial adulthood is all but impossible throughout Chicago, it has become difficult for businesses to find loyal employees. Workers who cannot afford a home within a reasonable commuting distance are more likely to quit and seek employment elsewhere. For this reason, businesses themselves are uprooting out of Illinois and headquartering in adjacent states, like Wisconsin or Indiana. Homeowners are tempted by the possibility of gainful employment and choose to follow the company. In the end, it is a cycle that is damaging the fiscal stability of the entire state, not just homeowners falling into foreclosure.
For more information about the foreclosure rates in Chicago and Illinois, you can click here to read a full article posted by Illinois News Network. If you are facing foreclosure and want to fight to keep your home, contact Atlas Consumer Law and discuss your options and potential strategies with our Chicago foreclosure defense attorneys.