{"id":891,"date":"2009-11-17T13:00:16","date_gmt":"2009-11-17T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.realst8.crankpin.com\/?p=891"},"modified":"2011-03-21T12:22:34","modified_gmt":"2011-03-21T16:22:34","slug":"free-help-appealing-your-st-joseph-county-indiana-property-tax-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realst8.com\/staging\/9756\/property-tax\/free-help-appealing-your-st-joseph-county-indiana-property-tax-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Help Appealing Your St. Joseph County, Indiana Property Tax Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: Effective 11\/26\/09, I am closing new requests for assistance with appeals. If you have registered for assistance I’ll contact you by the end of the week with a report.<\/span><\/p>\n

After writing about the recently mailed tax bills for St. Joseph County, which also served as notices of re-assessment, I’ve heard from a number of people who believe their assessment is\u00a0inaccurate or inflated.<\/p>\n

Warning, what follows is lengthy. I tried to make it as simple as possible, but St. Joseph County property taxes don’t lend themselves to clarity. If you are planning to appeal your assessed value I think you’ll find it helpful. But if your eyes glaze over reading tax deadlines and details you might want to skip it and look at photos of South Bend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you want to appeal your assessed property value, you have 45 days from the mailing date of the tax bill to do so. In my case the postmark is November 10th, but because I escrow taxes in my mortgage payment the bank received my bill and I received a duplicate copy which was apparently mailed later. The\u00a0Date of Notice on my bill is November 3rd and the fine print defines that as the date the property tax bill was mailed. So I’ll need to appeal before December 18th.<\/p>\n

While you can appeal with a letter, I’d recommend using appeal form #130<\/a> to be sure you have all the required information in your appeal.\u00a0That form suggests an appraisal trended to the valuation date as “the most effective method to rebut the presumption that an assessment is correct.” They are suggesting you appeal with an appraisal. But a report by a licensed appraiser will cost in the neighborhood of $300 for a typical South Bend home.<\/p>\n

The form also lists a few other forms of evidence that are considered valid:<\/p>\n