FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — Property tax bills are going out soon and some homeowners might be shocked when they open it up.
Franklin County saw record increases in property values and that is being reflected on this bill. The auditor's office did a mid-cycle property assessment last year.
On average, property values increased 41% across the county. Whitehall property values went up around 63% while Grandview increased by around 17%
Voters also passed several levies in the November election for school districts and libraries. Those levies will show up as well.
“The way with the elections and the language on the ballot, it will impact any January tax bills received,” said Michael Stinziano. “We want property owners to look at their bill and understand where the money is going.”
The Franklin County Treasurer’s Office sends out the tax bills in early January. There is a breakdown of where portions of the property taxes go. However, people can find their tax bills before they’re received in the mail on the Auditor’s website or the Treasurer’s website.
The increase in property taxes is also something for prospective homebuyers to keep in mind. The increase in property taxes can throw off the home-buying budget.
“Any broker can search for you by the amount of property taxes, so if you’re concerned about that, your lender can also help you find out how much you need to cap at,” said Sara Marie Brenner, a real estate broker in central Ohio. “If you’re concerned as a first-time homebuyer about not paying more than X, have your broker do a search where you don’t go over that dollar amount that way you can stay in that box of whatever your budget is.”
With Ohio’s property taxes heavily influenced by school district levies, crossing the road can change how much your taxes are.
“You’ve got make sure when you’re looking that you know. Unfortunately, so much of it is driven by schools systems. You know if you’re in one school system you know your property taxes are going to be X and if you’re in this school system you’re property taxes are going to be Y,” said Brenner. “Make sure you’re having those conversations with your broker before you get started so you don’t get started, maybe even write an offer and maybe even go under contract and realize ‘oh darn, the taxes are so much more that we thought because we didn’t’ realize we were in this other school district.’”
She said most people don’t think directly about the property tax number, but instead the total cost of the mortgage overall. She said there are some real estate moves that can be done to help offset the total cost as well.
As for current homeowners, property tax bills are due by the end of January. That bill can either be paid in full or half now with the other half due in June. Stinziano said that if someone has trouble paying the bill, they can work out a payment schedule with the county treasurer.