What does this IDNR sign mean?

[firecadet613]

The neighbor to the property I hunt in Huntington County has 2.88 acres and he has signs up for Classified Forest. Can't be more than an acre of woods on his place.

Likely a misplaced sign. They seem to be firm on the minimum 10 acres.

 

[phylodog]

Is that 1.7 acres its own parcel taxed separately?

It is. I cannot join it to my larger parcel due to it being separated by a road. Only 1 acre of my other 11 is taxed residential, the rest is ag.

 

[firecadet613]

It is. I cannot join it to my larger parcel due to it being separated by a road. Only 1 acre of my other 11 is taxed residential, the rest is ag.

That sounds correct, you just need 1 acre of residential for your homestead.

I've been looking at bigger properties the last few weeks, they all have land on both sides of a road, including my current property. The road shouldn't stop you.

 

[phylodog]

That sounds correct, you just need 1 acre of residential for your homestead.

I've been looking at bigger properties the last few weeks, they all have land on both sides of a road, including my current property. The road shouldn't stop you.

I looked into it and it's clearly outlined that they will not join parcels separated by a road, at least not in this county.

 

[Ingomike]

I looked into it and it's clearly outlined that they will not join parcels separated by a road, at least not in this county.

The tax amount is what is important. Just spitballing here can you put any agriculture on it? Got any friends that are bee keepers? I think that may be enough to get the exemption…

 

[Creedmoor]

Unfortunately this is Hamilton Co where $40k/acre is a steal in some places. I'm hopeful that I'll find someone helpful when I go in and common sense will prevail. If I were confident I'd have gone in there already.

I would tend to go with that taxes are accessed at what you just paid for that property. It might be a fight to have them lowered.

 

[Ingomike]

I would tend to go with that taxes are accessed at what you just paid for that property. It might be a fight to have them lowered.

They are taxing him for a more expensive classification that doubles or triples his tax liability.

A friend bought a 15 acre horse farm that closed in December. In February they got notice of assessment a little under what they paid, believed all good. April they get a tax bill over double what they expect. The freaking township assessor came by in the window after the sellers moved out and before the buyers moved in, claimed no ag was going on and taxed it likely the same way Philo is being taxed.

They then filed an appeal that was quickly granted. BUT! They had missed the deadline to appeal for that year so they had to pay the over tax because they didn’t understand the classification change, thought the assessed value was fine, and the appeal deadline was before the tax bills go out.

 

[phylodog]

I would tend to go with that taxes are accessed at what you just paid for that property. It might be a fight to have them lowered.

The county has it assessed at $39k as a residential lot. If they won't rezone it to flood plain I don't think they're going to lower their assessed value 65% to what I paid for it either, not without a fight anyway. I don't have money for an attorney and I'll end up in jail if I encounter unreasonable people so I'm just waiting.

 

[Ingomike]

The county has it assessed at $39k as a residential lot. If they won't rezone it to flood plain I don't think they're going to lower their assessed value 65% to what I paid for it either, not without a fight anyway. I don't have money for an attorney and I'll end up in jail if I encounter unreasonable people so I'm just waiting.

Put ag on it. That simple. Is it fenced?

 

[Cameramonkey]

The county has it assessed at $39k as a residential lot. If they won't rezone it to flood plain I don't think they're going to lower their assessed value 65% to what I paid for it either, not without a fight anyway. I don't have money for an attorney and I'll end up in jail if I encounter unreasonable people so I'm just waiting.

Thinking outside the box... If you know for a fact its in a flood plain, file for a building permit to build something substantial like a house.

When they turn you down because its in a flood plain, take that back to the assessors office and appeal it. You'll have another .gov agency backing up the fact that its unsuitable for building and needs to be assessed lower.

 

[Creedmoor]

The county has it assessed at $39k as a residential lot. If they won't rezone it to flood plain I don't think they're going to lower their assessed value 65% to what I paid for it either, not without a fight anyway. I don't have money for an attorney and I'll end up in jail if I encounter unreasonable people so I'm just waiting.

I fought property taxes on a home I own in Madison co a few years ago. It was at the meeting the county sets up for citizens to do so, after the new assessments come out.
I showed up with neighboring values/taxes and pictures of the property I owned. The tax lady told me in the beginning of the conversation that under no circumstances did the county do block assessments and they visited every property.
I proved her quite wrong with pictures of both bathrooms, kitchen, a pile of floor joists and a ton of drywall sitting on the collapsed deck in the back yard.
I asked why is a virtually gutted house taxed the same as a newly remodeled home two doors down since you don't do block assessments and each property is looked at when being assessed?

It took 19 minutes at the meeting and the taxes dropped about 60%
Good Luck

Edit, also the home is on a corner, even driving by you can see the entire property very easily.

 

[Ingomike]

Page 7 at the link, (will not allow my phone to copy paste it in) defines agriculture by the state of Indiana…

https://www.in.gov/dlgf/files/200120-Wilkening-Presentation-Agricultural-Land-Assessments.pdf

 

[indyblue]

I would also spend some time looking at local comparable property's and see what they are paying in taxes.
If your getting broken over go to the next available time that you can argue your tax bill with the county. Bring good pictures.

Check taxes on nearby properties like yours on the GIS map. Click a parcel, then the taxes & payments tab.

Experience

experience.arcgis.com

 

[indiucky]

We've got 17 acres or so of ours classified...our sign looks a little different...ours butts up to Hoosier National Forest...we don't have to pay taxes on it and about every five years someone from DNR goes by to make sure we didn't build a casino or turn the rock shelters into cliff dwelling apartments....They send me a lot of emails and tell me future generations of Hoosiers will love me...

I am a little doubtful of that.....

I just do what I can to preserve a piece of land where Indiana's Sasquatch, Dogmen, copperheads, timber rattlers, coywolves and the mountain lions DNR say are figments of my imagination can roam....

But I am keeping any arrowheads I find....surface find...obviously....

 

[Bstarkey_46947]

I have ~35 acres split by a road and the entire parcel is registered. It was in the program when purchased 12-13 years ago.

 

[Old Dog]

For correct information on the Classified Forest program in Indiana, see the attached PDF directly from IDNR. I have 100 acres in the program and it is split by a road. 80 ac. on one side, 20 ac. on the other side.

 

[Old Dog]

Had to add another PDF explaining the taxing of Classified Forest land in Indiana.

 

[snorko]

Another possible angle, does it have sanitary sewer access? If not, i doubt a 1.7 acre floodable tract passes for a septic system. And again, if no sewer, the minimum lot size may be higher. Most counties down south are 2.5 ac minimum for septic with a few at 1.0 acre if it will support a system.

 

[natdscott]

I have family that is in this program. Many years later they truly regret it. It really limits what you can do to your land.

Chuck

No, it doesn't.

You can do whatever you want. You just have to pay the taxes you would have owed, on whatever acreage is affected by your disallowed usage or action.