Got this in the mail a couple days ago and finally got around to looking at it. My property value has somehow jumped from 134,000 to 166,000 since last year (up from 124,000 two years ago). Of course they make me feel good by giving me a 42,000 state supplemental deduction. Lotta good that does when they fucking increase my property value by 20% in a depressed housing market, slow economy, and no improvements outside of putting fucking mulch down here and there and keeping the grass mowed. I have to think there is no way in HELL that is fair market value.

So, in the 4.5 years I've lived here, this is the highest it's ever been despite the gross property tax distribution amounts  being lower in nearly every category. I really want to contest this assessment because I they are way wrong. Has anyone here done this before? Does it sound like I may have a case?

dollar is worth less.......................... your house didn't go up the dollar came down

get used to it - this is just the beginning IMHO.

They hold all the cards, they make all the rules, you "rent" your property from them.


Pay up, sucker.

You need to compile a list of houses that recently sold that are like yours and what the sale price is. Then, go into the TWP or city office and pull the assessments of the honchos and see if theirs dropped, rose, or stayed the same. Contest the new assessment with the compiled info.

Mine has dropped from $2400 to $2000, they seem to be realistic about property values here.

It's worth protesting.  Not sure how it works in your state but in my experience if you put up a fight they will usually negotiate with you and lower it.  Helps if you have a realtor friend run some comps in your neighborhood to back you up.  Some counties here will make an effort to adjust values up or down based on the economy, others will just raise the value the maximum allowable by law every year.

This. You can call BS on their asessment. It can't hurt.

Thanks for the info. I know a villa just down the street from me recently sold so I'll do some research and see what it sold for. I'm not optomistic. I'll probably just have to bend over, pay up, and thank the man for letting me rent a piece of land from him.

Well now that your paying more all of them kiddies over filling the school system seem so much cuter now don't they.

one good thing with ca, it never changes, this old house here is $500 per year been that way forever as long as you dont sell it or change the title or whatever its called, you move in next door and its $5000. I heard of some states that reevaluate the costs more each year

Tax revenues are falling rapidly, while local government budgets keep expanding.  You can protest the assessment, and at least in my neck of the woods, if you are fortunate enough to get it lowered, you must repeat the process every year.  And they make it as much of a pain in the ass as humanly possible.  It's a great racket.  The rent for being a 'property owner' only increases despite all the heat and pressure added to the serfs.

Never done it, but if you live in the metro Indy area, I might be able to help you a bit.  I'm a Realtor.  IM me if interested.

Quite a few states have state run tax assessment mapping sites for each county.



"GIS" and your "county name" entered into your favorite search engine should get you a list of sites.



I've seen the NC, Pa, and SC sites, some are easier to use than others but all will give you a tax value for you and your neighbors.

Quite a few states have state run tax assessment mapping sites for each county.



"GIS" and your "county name" entered into your favorite search engine should get you a list of sites.



I've seen the NC, Pa, and SC sites, some are easier to use than others but all will give you a tax value for you and your neighbors.

Tax Last year=2700.00
Tax This year=1300.00

House new=370,000.00 (3 years ago)
Current taxable value after homestead exemption=39,000.00  (homestead exemption is 50k)

So you think you have issues?

We contested ours this year and they lowered the assessed value back down. They went back and dropped the last year's increase, as well as this year's.

In Iowa you only have a couple of weeks to file the form, so you might want to check that. My wife did all the footwork to get the paper filled out. Our county Assesor's Office files are all online. She was able to come up with comparable properties to use by looking online.