It is often difficult to determine the indication of needing to file a property tax appeal, but there are signs.
The following are a few good indications that a property tax appeal is necessary:
One indication is when the description of the property does not match the home or land that it is located on. An example of such an error is a town home being labeled as a single family home. Another indication is when similar homes in the area sell for less than the assessed value. Incidentally, most states, including Indiana, use market value or some variation of market value to determine the assessed value.
Still yet, another indication of a need for a property tax appeal is changes in the environment. Changes in environment include rezoning, heavy traffic, drainage problems, building of new industry, freeways, or toxic waste in the neighborhood.
Another indicating factor is the condition of the property. If the property is environmental obscene. The obscenity may include the roof needing replacement, inefficient heating, structural cracking, deterioration , and/or chronic defects.It is important to know that every year is not an assessed year, but that does not preclude you from filing a property tax appeal.
It is equally important to note that any time the economy is plagued with foreclosures, short sales, and homeowners seeking bail out of homeownership, a property tax appeal may be in order. If any or all of these factors exist then it is a good intentions that your property tax bill may need a review and an appeal.
The appeal of your property taxes if successful may adjust your assessed value. If your assessed value is your property will be lower. Here is how? Once the assessor value is determined the amount owed in property taxes is determined by the tax rate for the city in which the property is located. The formula is assessed value times tax rate equals property tax.
The tax rate is a very important part of the equation because the tax rate is determined by the budget the town officials believe is needed to run the city. Items that are needed to run a city vary, but most city rely on property taxes to provide the following items to the citizens of that city:
*Police
*Fire safety
*Library
*School
*Health care department
*Trash pick up
Some cities have all of these items on the property taxes making the cost to run the city very high.
Lastly, a property tax appeal can be filed by business owners, homeowners, and real investors if you believe that your property is improperly assessed.