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Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Indiana Law - Allen County residents hiring private appraisers
This story today in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel is interesting, and somewhat troubling. Headlined "Homeowners are hiring appraisers to take a closer look in hopes of lowering their tax bills," it begins:
Hundreds of Allen County residents have dramatically lowered their property taxes by paying for an "inside job" - and there's nothing underhanded about it.In fact, private appraisals have exposed a flaw in Indiana's court-imposed shift to a market-based assessment system.
A home's value is determined by more than its size and external appearance, after all. Condition is a factor, too - and it can't be determined without going inside for a closer look. Government assessors never had time for that kind of scrutiny - which is why many private appraisers are working overtime now.
"We never would have gotten done if we'd have gone in every home," said Wayne Township Assessor Jerry Zuber, whose crews visited all 43,000 homes in the township - nearly one-third of the county's total. But those visits were external only, confirming the home's size, features and other easily visible factors. As a result, they often missed hidden problems that are now being detected by private appraisers such as Tom Heine and Mike Roach.
"Business is up 100 percent," said Heine, a 25-year veteran who has appraised 12 homes in the past month or so. While most of those appraisals have persuaded officials to decrease the owner's assessment by an average of about 60 percent, a few owners have done far better.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 26, 2004 02:34 PM
Posted to Indiana Decisions