If you're an Elkhart County resident, you probably got a notice recently about your property tax assessment and you may have responded like these people.
"Oh my gosh it's significantly higher," says Cindy Cain.
"I didn't think that was reasonable that it would jump $7,000 in one year," Romie Zanetti.
Indiana ordered a statewide general reassessment this year. In Elkhart, an outside firm was hired to physically inspect every property verifying records are correct.
"This is the new assessment that will be effective next year, 2013," says Zanetti.
Residents like Cain and Zanetti noticed significant jumps in property taxes this year.
"Almost $20,000," says Cain.
"The land went up $7,000 and the home went up $7,000," says Zanetti.
Elkhart County assessor, Cathy Searcy, explained that yearly property taxes are determined by comparing the market value of your property with an assessment of your property. The assessment gets carried over year to year, but every ten years your property is reassessed.
Since the last reassessment in 2002, the state has updated the process. For example, the state issued new land orders and construction costs. Combine that with the age of a home, depreciation, or physical changes to a property and it equals a new assessment value.
However, Cindy Cain still isn't sold on the value the county came up with for her home, "my house is cute, it is not $20,000 cuter than it was last year."
Searcy said property values can go up and down even if you didn't do anything to it. It's based on the market trend.
"I understand small jumps, you know, if they want to raise it up if the house looks better. They don't know what the house looks like in that area, apparently they don't," says Cain, which is why she has decided to appeal her new assessment.
The assessors office says that's something you have every right to do.
The process is simple. First you need to write a notification to the local assessing official. Taxpayers have 45 days from the date of the notice of assessment to initiate an appeal. For more information, check out this link.
