JBord

No question about it. It wouldn't be unusual in some areas around Chicago for the monthly tax escrow amount to be higher than the P&I on a loan. We had looked at a property in the past where our tax would be $200 more per month than our loan payment. That certainly makes you think about it.

California is a pretty unique situation within the US. High property cost, rent, taxes, and cost of living. It's a perfect storm that you don't see in a lot of places. Illinois, in comparison, is in a completely different category in terms of cost. I remember a co-worker outside of LA telling me about the starter house they bought for $750k, this was about 8 years ago. That would be a mini-mansion in many Chicago suburbs.

Chicago is really an affordable, great place to live. The one noticeable exception is the taxes, and maybe more importantly how that tax revenue seems to be wasted (bringing us back to the whole toll road topic!)...but let's not devolve into IL politics, that's a better OMNI thread .

glg

He said "in Chicago", not "in the Chicago burbs". Chicago's tax rates are lower than most (all?) burbs. My estimate was based on multiplying my own assessed value and tax bill. It helps having that "loop" thing with lots of value. Even if many of those buildings are criminally underassessed. Hoping when Kaegi's people get a shot at downtown, there is some improvement.

GUWonder

Chicago’s residential property tax rates are relatively high (when looking at the largest cities across the states), even as they aren’t as high as in various suburban parts of the Chicago metropolitan area. And in Chicago, they’ve been rising over recent years.

It’s all part of comparing total housing costs and other living costs and what you get for the money. And the property and other taxes and user fees in the Chicago metro area — Chicago proper too — are part of the total housing cost picture, which in turn is a big part of the comparative living cost picture.