(WSBT) A lot of Indiana homeowners are still waiting to get their property tax bills.

But some who already received them were shocked to find out how much they had to pay.

Brent Birk of LaPaz wants to know, “What determines how much you have to pay for property taxes?”

Jerry Safur would like to weed out some of the dollars assessors say his home is worth. Safur is one of the more than 1,300 St. Joseph County homeowners who have already filed an appeal. His home's value jumped $24,000.

“This neighborhood is rated an A-1 neighborhood, and the condition isn't that good anymore,” Safur told WSBT News. “The curbs are bad, the roads are bad.”

Safur is fighting the reassessment for fear it will lead to much higher property taxes.

“The ideal scenario for a neighborhood is that you exactly have the same type of homes in it that you're weighing the sales,” explained St. Joseph County Assessor Dave Wesolowski.

Wesolowski says homes are grouped into neighborhoods. To come up with a value, assessors are using homes sold in those neighborhoods during 2004 and 2005, and the homes have to be what are called “good sales.”

“A lot of sales are weeded out,” said Wesolowski. “A foreclosure sale would not be included in that analysis.”

But many argue the numbers assessors use don't add up. One realtor cited an example of a home jumping from $88,000 to $152,000.

A major issue is South Bend, where homes right next door to each other can be so different. That's often not the case in a place like Granger, with more new subdivisions.

“Because you do have mixes, properties have been built within subdivisions that are not consistent with even the majority of the types of homes,” Wesolowski said.

Jerry Safur is frustrated about wide price differences all along his street.

“I know this house wouldn’t get $156 [thousand] on the market,” Safur said.

You can find out what homes make up the neighborhood that decides the value of your home. Just contact your township assessor's office.