Homeowners fuming after receiving increased property tax assessments
By Ibrahim Samra
Published: May. 3, 2022 at 6:14 PM EDT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - If the value of your home went up this year, than the amount of taxes you pay on it probably did too.
“I have been in this business 30 years. I have never seen this substantial of an increase in one year.”
As the housing market continues to stay hot, local tax expert Beth Szweda says some homeowners in St. Joseph County are fuming about their recent home tax assessments.
“They are upset. They are upset. They don’t know what to do,” Szweda says.
Szweda, who helps property owners save tax money through her company Correct Property Tax LLC in South Bend, says this year’s tax assessments are the highest she has seen in more than three decades.
“The assessments normally will rise as the market rises but this type of increase, I have never seen, 50 to 100 percent increases in assessments in one year,” Szweda says.
It is something Szweda says she can relate to knowing her assessment has also more than doubled since last year.
“That equates to an increase in taxes of almost 1,500 dollars a year,” Szweda says. “That is not normal.”
However, Szweda says slight assessment increases are normal especially when property values are on the rise, except for this year’s unusually high spike.
“I’m not sure, the assessor’s office handles all of that. I don’t want to speculate what their process was or how that happened. I just can’t make sense of it,” Szweda says.
The best thing Szweda says you can do to help save you money on your assessment is to appeal your assessment.
“Definitely appeal your property assessment. There could be mistakes made or there could be something the assessor could do to reduce that assessment. The most important thing is to get that appeal filed,” Szweda says.
You can appeal your assessment in person or online by clicking here: DLGF: DLGF Forms (in.gov) .
By Ibrahim Samra
Published: May. 3, 2022 at 6:14 PM EDT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - If the value of your home went up this year, than the amount of taxes you pay on it probably did too.
“I have been in this business 30 years. I have never seen this substantial of an increase in one year.”
As the housing market continues to stay hot, local tax expert Beth Szweda says some homeowners in St. Joseph County are fuming about their recent home tax assessments.
“They are upset. They are upset. They don’t know what to do,” Szweda says.
Szweda, who helps property owners save tax money through her company Correct Property Tax LLC in South Bend, says this year’s tax assessments are the highest she has seen in more than three decades.
“The assessments normally will rise as the market rises but this type of increase, I have never seen, 50 to 100 percent increases in assessments in one year,” Szweda says.
It is something Szweda says she can relate to knowing her assessment has also more than doubled since last year.
“That equates to an increase in taxes of almost 1,500 dollars a year,” Szweda says. “That is not normal.”
However, Szweda says slight assessment increases are normal especially when property values are on the rise, except for this year’s unusually high spike.
“I’m not sure, the assessor’s office handles all of that. I don’t want to speculate what their process was or how that happened. I just can’t make sense of it,” Szweda says.
The best thing Szweda says you can do to help save you money on your assessment is to appeal your assessment.
“Definitely appeal your property assessment. There could be mistakes made or there could be something the assessor could do to reduce that assessment. The most important thing is to get that appeal filed,” Szweda says.
You can appeal your assessment in person or online by clicking here: DLGF: DLGF Forms (in.gov) .
