property taxes?

Are you paying too much in property taxes?
By Bankrate.com

More than half of homeowners pay too much because their property has been wrongly assessed. Here's how to research and correct mistakes, and how to navigate the appeals process.
You could be paying more than you owe in property taxes.
In a hot market, owners often find themselves facing double, sometimes triple, increases in property taxes, according to the National Taxpayers Union, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group whose goal is to lower taxes. Now, with home values decreasing in many areas, owners may be stuck with a property assessment that's too high.
There is a remedy: Appeal the assessment.
How it works Property-tax increases largely are based on rising home values, not the increase of taxes by local governments. Different formulas are used to figure property taxes, but all depend on a home's assessed value. Some jurisdictions use a home's actual market value, while others use a percentage of a property's worth.
Whatever value is used, it's multiplied by the local tax rate to compute the property's bill. As home values increase, so do their assessed values. Homeowners end up paying more, even though the tax rate stays the same.
The National Taxpayers Union estimates that as much as 60% of taxable property in the United States is overassessed. But only half of homeowners protest their assessments. This means many may be paying more in property taxes than necessary.