More than a few people I know have made their mortgage payments by the skin of their teeth in recent months. For some people, their next property tax bill could make the difference between managing that month’s mortgage payment and looking at foreclosure. Right now, property taxes make for all kinds of trouble: reading up on what’s going on in your area is an absolute necessity. Here are just a few of the property tax problems I’ve heard about lately:

• Major Delays on Property Assessments: As housing prices have dropped, home owners have been scrambling to arrange for property assessments appeals in hopes of reducing their property tax bill. Many counties are experiencing delays — and may not catch up before the next bill comes due. Making matters more complicated is the fact that not all homeowners who expect their new assessments to be lower are actally correct. While some properties’ values have dropped significantly, others have remained flat or even increased slightly — especially if the last assessment was more than two years ago.
• Property Tax Legislation Starts Catching Up: In the past, many states passed laws meant to prevent huge increases in property tax bills. Some used tax credits, some used assessment caps — but these laws all amount to spreading out increases over several years. That means a lot of homeowners will still be facing rising tax bills because their actual property taxes haven’t caught up to their current assessment yet.
• State Budget Shortfalls: Just about every state in the U.S. is facing a major budget shortfall this year. In order to keep operating at all, most states must consider a combination of cutting services and increasing tax rates (including property taxes). Many states are reporting that they will not be able to cover shortfalls just by cutting costs — raising property taxes to the point that states are receiving at least as much income as they did when property values were higher is looking more and more likely in most places.

You may normally ignore property tax news in favor of something more interesting, but you probably ought to take a look at your local news if you own a home. Many cities have already hiked property taxes, such as Reading, Pennsylvania — which has enacted a 5 percent property hike. On top of that, Dec. 31 is a common deadline for getting your current tax bill paid. There are plenty of penalties associated with missing that deadline, no matter why a bill didn’t get paid on time.

If you need more information about your property taxes, your best bet is to contact your county government. Property taxes are administered locally, usually by either the municipality or the county you live in. In most areas, you can find property tax information online at the website of the county you live in, but if the information online does not appear to be up to date, go ahead and call their office. If you own multiple properties in multiple counties, don’t forget to check each county’s website.

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