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The house is in Harsens Island, Michigan - which is near Detroit, whose home prices have been totally devastated by the economy. So, if I understand you correctly, this increase does not look kosher, and I should further investigate the matter? Thanks for the help. I will call my county board or whatever and see what they say. I'm not sure what a homestead notice is either. It's my second home, do I still need to file one? I'm sure I didn't though.
If it's your second home, then there is a decent chance that the increase is due to the property going from homestead (primary residence) to non-homestead (not primary residence) status. The way that Michigan taxes property, non-homestead homeowners pay a LOT more. This is a guess, based on your buying the property in '07 and a little lag in the local assesor's office. (also, ignore the prior comment about the homestead notice - you can only claim one, didn't know this was a second home)
Another factor may be that the transfer "uncapped" your property taxes - under state law, property taxes can only go up so much every year, but once you sell that limit is taken away and the property value is reset.
http://www.claytownship.org/government/assessing/ has some FAQ information.
I can't provide specific advice, but basically if you think the valuation is unfair -- find the "State Equalized Value" on your tax statement and multiply by 2 to get what the assessor thinks your property is worth -- you'll want to contact the township assessor & ask if they'll review it. If you don't get satisfaction, the next step is the local board of review. Note that they meet in March.
Here is a pretty decent guide to property taxes & appeals put out by the state.