Chicagoland - Is MyHomeRefund a Scam ?

Question

Hi all

I own a property in Chicago w/ tenants currently living there. There was a piece of mail that was delivered to the unit addressed to me from MyHomeRefund . See attached picture that my tenant sent me.  The cover says it's Re: a Property Tax Refund of $1356.    First of all, I am out of state and will require a bit of coordination to get this mail, (which is totally fine) but before I go through this hassle, I am wondering if this is a scam or if anyone has had experience with receiving a similar mail? It looks like this is a business that identifies if property owners have overpaid on taxes and then helps you recover it. Their fee based on the website is 33%.

John Warren · Answer

@Julie George you can always check your taxes to see if there is a refund available for free. Cookcountypropertyinfo.com. Type in your address and check the bottom left-hand corner.

Jonathan Klemm · Answer

Hey @Julie George - This is just a standard mailing piece that tax appeal companies send.  You should definitely be trying to appeal your taxes every year if not with this company then with another.  There are company's that will take bigger or smaller cuts so do some research and find someone you'd work well with.

Cook county (i.e, Chicago)  adjusts taxes every 2 years but you can appeal every year I believe.

Paul De Luca · Answer

@Julie George

I don't have experience with this company however after a quick search it seems like a typical solicitation to lower your property taxes. Usually I get similar mail about appealing property taxes but this is slightly different in that this company would be looking to see if you are qualified for any exemptions that you currently aren't getting. So if you qualified for a homeowner exemption but weren't getting the benefit of that, they would make sure that exemption is applied so you would receive a refund & they would take a cut of that.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

@Julie George A quick google search shows….

Apparently, there are thousands of cook county residents eligible for a tax refund, due to over payment.  It seems like this is just a case where homestead exemptions weren’t properly applied for or the exemption itself applied.

You can check for yourself on the Cook County Treasurer site…easy to to do yourself if you qualify, no need for the service.