Have you ever been curious about the tax appraisal of your current home?  Did you know you can search and view the current real estate tax card for pretty much any property located in Knox County Ohio by visiting the Knox County Auditor website by CLICKING HERE?  There is some very useful information available on this site and the majority of the information is fairly accurate but there are some areas worth additional research (more on that topic a little later).

Once you click on the link Knox County Auditor website you are going to have to accept their terms and conditions page to move forward.  Once you have completed the terms and conditions you will immediately be taken to the main search page and this is where the magic happens.  You have several options but I recommend that you start in the far upper right corner with teh Quick Search feature.  You can entire you property parcel number, owner's name or address and in the majority of cases this will yield the initial results you are looking for.  There will be some cases where it doesn't find the property or owner of record and if this happens don't panic because there are other options so try the steps below.

On the left hand side of the main screen on the Knox County Auditor website there are more detailed search options titled Property Search.  Under the Property Search heading you have an option called Home.  You will rarely need this link and if you are starting on the main page it won't serve any purpose other than refreshing the page.  The second option is to select the Search button.  By clicking the inital search button you will have an option to search by last name and first name of the property owner.  This is super handy if you are trying to locate a Knox County Ohio property and you know the owner's name but you don't know the address or parcel number.  

Knox County Parcel Number Search is the fastest way to find a property record if you already have the Knox County Parcel Number.  This is especially ideal for property owners who just received written notifications that they will be experiencing an increase in their real estate tax bills because the parcel number is located on that notification form.  If you have that parcel number use the Knox County Parcel Number Search and you will be happy you did because you won't have to sort through multiple parcels to find you property info.

There are a few other search options available such as Knox County Map Number Search, Intersection Search and the Advanced Search.  The map and interserction searches are likely the least used search features and most visitors and property owners don't typically utilize these search options.  There is also an advanced search that offers a series of detailed search options.  There is a wealth of information in the Advanced Search option but unless you are a real estate professional or a property appraiser, you won't likely spend much time in this area using this search.  A feature you might like is the Sales Date or Sales Price search feature because this is a quick and easy way to locate Knox County property sales by SOLD dates and also by SOLD prices.

Here are a few words of caution when you are using the property search function on the Knox County Auditors Website.  I want to be very clear that non of the examples below are a meant to be critical of the Auditors Office.  However, I do run across some incorrect or disputable data that is provided on the Knox County Auditor Website in my opinion.  Please don't get angry with the nice folks who work at the Knox County Auditors Office because in the majority of the cases the data was provided to them by an indepentent firm.  Remember, the firm contracted to visit the property site never got inside the property so they are making some assumptions about the property blind without seeing the interior.  As a real estate professional, I have a significant advantage because I have access to the interior of the property so I can determine value based on the amount of living space, the floor plan and interior design, amout of    

  1. The Knox County Auditor doesn't typically step foot inside any of these homes so if you are looking for an accurate appraised value of a property you should consult an expert.
  2. The square footage and the property sketch listed on the Knox County Auditors Property Card isn't always accurate.  We have seen cases over the years where the property owner is paying real estate taxes based on a property card that lists the square footage that is off by several hundred square feet.  
  3. Pay close attention to the square footage listed on Knox County Property Card especially if the home design is a 1.5 story home such as a Cap Cod.  There are cases where the 2nd floor is less than 50% of the main level space directly below it due to the roof design or attic space.  
  4. Pay close attention to the square footage listed on the Knox County Property Card especially if the home is a bi level or split level.  There have been cases where the square footage was incorrectly listed.  We have seen cases where they have listed a 1600 square foot home at 1000 square feet.  

Have you ever wondered who owned a specific house on a particular street or neighborhood in Knox County Ohio?