Politics & Government

Trustees OK Tax Refund for Homebuyers

Ordinance aimed at boosting home purchases, keeping residents in Romeoville.

The wants its residents to stick around — and now, homebuyers have another reason to stay in the village, in the form of a real estate transfer tax refund.

Trustees voted Wednesday to amend an existing ordinance so that village residents — whether they’re renters, homeowners or still living with their parents — will receive a real estate tax refund if they purchase a home in the village.

To qualify, homebuyers must have lived in Romeoville consistently for at least six months, Mayor John Noak said.

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Originally, the ordinance extended the transfer tax break to Romeoville residents who sold their homes, but repurchased a house in the village within one year.

“It was actually originally put in place by referendum,” Noak said.

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The amended ordinance allows renters and other non-homeowners who live in the village to benefit from the rebate as well.

The incentive is now available to residents who live in the village but reside with a relative — such as young adults who may have moved back in with parents after college, Noak said — and are now looking to purchase a home.

“We didn’t want to put anything on people who are just moving from home to home in Romeoville,” Noak said. “We really felt it was important to expand this to all our residents, [including] those that live in apartments.”

For the buyer of a $200,000 home, the refund means recouping about $700 in real estate transfer taxes.

“It’s a pretty good reduction,” Noak said. “It’s a way to go out and encourage people to stay in our community and repurchase in our community.”

Village stocks up on salt

In other board news, trustees OK’d the purchase of $411,100 worth of road salt — that’s 7,000 tons — for the winter.

With reports that Chicagoland could suffer the country's worst winter this year and memories of last year’s “Snowmageddon” still fresh, Noak said the village’s public works department has been effective in determining how much salt is needed to keep roads safe.

“We didn’t run low last year,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to have one of the best plowing crews and street crews in the community,” Noak added.


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