St. Joseph County Property Tax Bills mailed out, new assessments next

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- Homeowners in St. Joseph County should expect to see their property tax bill in the mail soon, if they haven't already.

Not to be confused with new property assessments that will begin mailing out in two weeks; these bills reflect last year's property assessments that many homeowners reported a staggering increase in.

Residents that were among the nearly 14,000 county-wide that appealed those assessments should see that reflected in this bill.

"We want to improve our communities, and we want to live here, and we want to like the place we live in. Unfortunately, when that's based upon some high tax bill that you weren't expecting, that is sometimes hard to swallow," says Jen Arizmendi, President of South Bend Area Realtors.

A dramatic property tax assessment increase was a hard pill to swallow for thousands of Saint Joseph County residents last year.

Some homeowners reported assessments that were doubled from the year prior.

Thousands of appeals were filed to the St. Joseph County Assessor's Office; now those bills have been sent out and it's time to pay.

County Assessor Michael Castellon warns homeowners to check their bill over with a close eye if you filed an appeal.

"The tax bill they are getting from 25-26, it may or may not be reflective of their appeal," explains Michael Castellon, St. Joseph County Assessor. "Once I adjudicate an appeal through the assessor's office, it then needs to go to the auditor's office. So, it takes some time, and there will be quite a few that may not see a corrected tax bill."

If you are one that received an incorrect tax bill, he warns not to panic.

"Do not panic. If you have a signed 1-15 from my office, you are guaranteed a corrected tax bill."

If it still seems high, it's important to remember there are outside factors that add into the total of your tax bill.

"There's more that goes into your tax bill than just your assessment," says Castellon. "Referendums, levies, and the budget all calculate your tax bill. That's what they're seeing now from last year."

In just two weeks, homeowners will start the process all over again when they receive their new assessments.

Castellon says county-wide, assessments are seeing an average of a four percent decrease.

President of South Bend Area Realtors Jen Arizmendi says that sounds on par with current local housing market trends.

"I do think that our market is starting to stabilize a little bit, so we're not seeing those huge appreciations that we were seeing the last few years, things are starting to stabilize a little bit," explains Arizmendi. "So, what you're assessed at this year, you shouldn't probably see a huge jump next year."

Those can be appealed if they still don't feel accurate to your property's value.

"Usually, my first question to any of my clients who call me is, 'Okay, based on your assessment, do you think if you were going to list your property tomorrow can we sell it for that?' And that's usually a good gauge to find out whether or not you're out of the ballpark with that assessment, of if that makes sense," explains Arizmendi.

With the tax bills that were just mailed out, the county Treasurer's Office says the spring installment will be due Monday May 11.

Castellon says homeowners should start to see their assessments for this year after April 27.