<prompt> Human: I was just wondering how I can check the financial health of a neighborhood Im considering purchasing in. If documents are involved, what should I look for within them? The neighborhood seems to run into flooding issues every year along the river bed and Im not sure how it affects them or if its something that only affects the home owners along that area.Edit:This is for a city in Illinois  <response>: You have a fundamental misunderstanding of how property taxes work. Your county assessor the elected entity that assesses property value assesses value on a individual basis. They do not look at oh hey this persons neighbor doesnt pay his taxes so well up his taxes to make up the difference If your neighbors property is shit flood-plain, it might have no taxable value. That might lower your taxable value.There are levels to property tax large to small scale: State, County, Municipal, Sub-municipal improvement districts, special utility areas, etc. The assessor determines a taxable value, and each entity would get a percentage called a millage, usually shown as 1per 1000 in assessed value. Theres no entity that can extort you because your neighbors are deadbeats.Source: im a city planner 