I Believe My Property Taxes are Too High – What Can I Do?

If you are a property owner who has been watching home sales and you have seen foreclosures selling lower than other homes in your area, you are not alone. If you are a property owner who has been trying to refinance your mortgage and are finding that appraisals are coming in below what you expected, you are not alone. If you are trying to sell your property, you may find that it hasn’t sold as quickly as you had hoped and, you may even find yourself reducing the sales price in an effort to sell sooner. These events influence your opinion of the market in your neighborhood and, when your tax bill or Notice of Value (“NOV”) arrives, you may think that it is not representative of your home or neighborhood. And, you may be right since the tax bill and NOV are not based on current sales in your area.

Take some time to review the tax bill you received in January. You will note that it is for the tax year 2010. This bill is the second annual tax bill of a two-year assessment cycle. It represents the value established for your residential property at the end of the 24-month period that ended June 2008 as required by State law. For commercial property values, sales may be used for up to 60 months prior to June 2008.

The Assessor’s office has received a number of inquiries from property owners who think their taxes are too high and some want to protest. The bad news is: the 2011 tax bill cannot be protested because it represents the property valuation for 2010 based on market data from sales through June 2008. The good news is: the new NOV will be mailed on May 1. Those values will be based on market data from sales through June 2010.

If you purchased your property after June 30, 2010, your sale cannot be used until the 2013 revaluation cycle. While it may seem like a long time, please be aware that other sales in your area within the statutory time period will be considered.

While property owners cannot protest their values at this time, now is the time for property owners to ensure that the information in the Assessor’s records is accurate. The Assessor’s staff is responsible for valuing over 26,000 parcels of land in Teller County and, in addition to studying the sales of properties that sold on or before June 30, 2010, the seven appraisers are personally inspecting as many properties as possible.

Not only do the appraisers inspect properties that sold in the appropriate time frame, they also personally inspect new construction and properties that have been permitted for additions, modifications, or destruction and demolition. But they can’t review and inspect all properties. While the appraisers work diligently to collect as much information as is necessary to ensure that values are accurate, we need your help.

Our review is nearing completion and we need your input as soon as possible. Please look at the information compiled by the Assessor’s office for your property. You may access this information online by going to the Assessor’s website at www.co.teller.co.us/Assessor and clicking on the “Online Services” tab at the top of the page. You can find your property by your name, address, or legal description. If you do not have access to the internet, you can review your tax bill or the last NOV you received, or you may call our office at 689-2941.

When reviewing your information, please check to see if the information is correct. Are the number of baths and bedrooms correct? Are the descriptions for interior, exterior, and roof characteristics correct? Have you made any improvements that aren’t shown? Is your basement finished or partially finished as noted? Have you made any alterations or demolished any portions of the improvements? Does the condition of the property appear to be accurate?

There are many other property characteristics that are considered for valuing property; however, the information shown on the website or NOV includes those characteristics that are considered “germane” to value. I will discuss property characteristics in the next article and how these characteristics are determined and classified.

Taxes are your business. Although the Assessor does not set the tax rates, the value of your property affects the taxes you must pay. The Assessor’s job is to ensure that property values are equalized and just and, to do so, it is important to have accurate, reliable information. And, we need your help.

How do your property characteristics affect the value of your property for tax purposes?

Since property characteristics vary significantly, if the characteristics are not described correctly, your property valuation will not be accurate, which may result in you paying more taxes than you should.

Take some time to look at the information compiled by the Assessor’s office for your property. You may access this information online by going to the Assessor’s website www.co.teller.co.us/Assessor and clicking on the “Online Services” tab at the top of the page. You can find your property by your name, address, or legal description. If you do not have access to the internet, you can review your tax bill or the last Notice of Value you received. You may also call the Assessor’s office at 689-2941.

When you review your property record, tax bill or Notice of Value, you will not see all of the characteristics and subsets of information that the Assessor uses to value your property, but you will see the major characteristics that are considered germane to the value. The appraisers who inspect and review your property use approximately 60 to 70 different characteristics and attributes in the property value analysis.

One of the most common questions asked of the Assessor relates to property style. How is the style of the property determined?

The property style is determined by the number of stories, the existence of a basement, and the architectural characteristics. One of the most commonly misunderstood styles is the raised ranch. If you have a two-story type house with any part of the first floor with access to the outside that is below grade, it is considered a raised ranch. If, however, it also has another story, the style is considered a 1-1/2 or 2-story house. If the upper story is close in size to the lower story, it is a 2-story. If a house has a basement with no doors leading to the outside, it is considered ranch style.

Bedroom count seems to be easy, but it isn’t. Generally a room is not considered a bedroom unless it has a closet, a door, and a window. A below grade room that is used as a bedroom may not meet local codes for sleeping quarters unless it has a window of adequate size for exiting the room in emergencies. The Assessor does not consider this type of room a bedroom. Also, a loft area is not considered a bedroom as it may not have walls or doors.

Several years ago I reviewed my property characteristics and noted that my house mysteriously grew another quarter bath. I found out that a full bathroom with four plumbing fixtures is one bath. Four fixtures include a single sink, a commode, and a combination tub and shower that have two separate plumbed fixtures. My bathroom has those characteristics, but includes a double sink. The second sink added the ‘quarter’ to my bath. If your bathroom has a double sink, a commode, and a tub to which you connect a shower hose, it is considered one full bath. A half bath has two plumbing fixtures, usually a sink and commode.

Exterior characteristics are cut and dried, right? Not necessarily. If you have a log home, it may be a kit log, which is identified by identical sized logs. You may have an older home that has bark logs, which are logs that still have the bark attached and are not peeled like finished logs. The Assessor calls this exterior characteristic “frame shingle slab”. You may have a custom whole log house, which can be compared to pearls. The real ones are not uniform in size and finish. And then there is log siding, which is exactly that – siding.

A word about zoning. You will notice that the website shows information about zoning. The zoning does not determine the classification of the property. A property will be classified residential if it is used for residential purposes. If a property is zoned agricultural, but is used for residential purposes, it is classified residential. You will find the classification type, which is used for your property, under the Account Type category.

More on classification next time, but in the meantime, please check your property characteristics and call the Assessor’s office if you find inaccurate information.

Property Classification Affects Value, Too

How your property is classified depends on how you actually use your property as of January 1 of the assessment year. If your property was classified as residential on January 1 and you converted your property to commercial use on January 20, your property will be classified as residential for the entire year, but it will be reclassified to commercial as of the next January 1 and your assessment value and tax amounts will change.

How does a change in use or classification affect the taxes you owe on the property? Assume your property is valued at $100,000. As a residential property, your assessed value is $7,960 because residential property is assessed at 7.96%. If you live in Woodland Park and your mill levy is 85.144 mills (.085144 multiplication factor), your taxes are approximately $678. Once you change the use of your property, your assessed value is $29,000 because commercial property is assessed at 29%. At a mill levy of 85.144 mills, your taxes for the same property are now approximately $2,469.

Assessment rates vary depending on the classification of the property based on state law. The Assessor has no say or control over those rates or the mill levy rates, which are set by various taxing authorities such as the city or county and the various fire, ambulance, school, and library districts.

Vacant land is one of the most controversial classifications because it is assessed at 29%. Vacant land does not have a residential house, but it may have a minor structure, such as a detached garage. Vacant land does not include land used for ranches and farms which qualify for agricultural status.

The Assessor’s office often hears from homeowners who own a parcel of land adjacent to property that is classified residential. The homeowner is unhappy because the taxes on the vacant parcel are more than the taxes on the parcel with the house. One example is a 2.2-acre parcel of land valued at $113,000 with taxes of $2,254, which is adjacent to parcel with a 2000 square foot house on 2.4 acres of land with taxes of $1,154.

If you are using a vacant lot or parcel adjacent to your residence, you may want to consider vacating the boundary line between the parcels. You should contact your city or county planning department for assistance.

If you do not wish to vacate the boundary line, you may contact the Assessor’s office to complete a Request for Combination of Properties form. This request will combine the parcels, provided that certain conditions are met. Conditions include the unity of ownership, which means that the ownership of the vacant parcel must be identical to the ownership of the parcel containing the house. The vacant parcel must be contiguous to and used as an integral part of the residence for the support, enjoyment or other noncommercial activity of the homeowner. There are other conditions, so you will need to call the Assessor’s office to request the form, a review, and an inspection.

Another misunderstood classification is agricultural. Agricultural land may be located in an unincorporated or incorporated part of the county and has nothing to do with how the property is zoned. To qualify for the agricultural classification, you must have used your property as a farm or ranch for monetary profit the previous two years and you must still be using it for that purpose. Once you have made an application for the agricultural classification, you must wait two years before the classification is changed.

You may have a perpetual conservation easement on your property, which was placed on your property during the time that it was classified as agricultural. If you have less than 80 acres of land and it has a conservation easement, you may find that once you build on or otherwise alter your property depending on the terms of the easement, it may be reclassified as residential. Sometimes people are quite unhappy to find out that they have lost the agricultural status simply by building a home on the property.

If you have 40 acres or more of forest land and are under a Forest Service management program, you may be entitled to the forest agricultural classification. Contact the Colorado State Forest Service for more information.

The Assessor’s office is happy to answer any question you may have about your property or our operations. Our website, www.co.teller.co.us/Assessor, is changing, so please check it frequently for news and information.

Vision for Teller County Assessor’s Office

As your COUNTY ASSESSOR , MY VISION is to protect your property rights by ensuring fair and equitable taxation through fair and equitable property valuations while ensuring high standards of performance through information, education, and customer service.

FAQs About Betty:

Why are you running for Teller County Tax Assessor?

 I love Colorado, especially Teller County.  In 2000, after 25 years in the real estate and petroleum industries, I chose to enter public service knowing that I could use my skills and experience to serve the citizens of Colorado. I have been blessed and, since “to him who much is given, much is expected,” I want to pay it forward.

Times are difficult and with my unique broad-based real estate and management background, I have much to give back by serving the citizens of Teller County. 

Now is the time to serve, not just ‘be served’. 

Why are you the best candidate for this position?

 My background, experience, and education make me the best and most qualified candidate for this position.  I have broad-based, extensive experience in all facets of land and real estate, including the following:

  • Rendering Broker’s Price Opinions & Market Analyses
  • Marketing & sales of real estate; purchasing & sales of private & public properties
  • Performing findings of value for Colorado Department of Transportation projects
  • Determining mineral ownership
  • Reviewing title and curing title defects
  • Negotiation of surface and subsurface property interests

 I am the only candidate that has been on both sides of the public sector (as a staff member and an elected official). I earned a Master of Public Administration with the goal of serving the public.  I have extensive management, supervisory and administration experience, including budgetary responsibilities.

What do you see as the greatest challenges facing this office?

 I mentioned that we are in very difficult times – we are truly in unprecedented times.  Since foreclosures must be taken into consideration when properties are revalued and sales prices are declining, the next property reassessment year, 2011, will see a decline in property values and, most likely many challenges to valuations.

It is very easy to be a manager or CEO when times are good and money is plentiful. It is difficult and challenging to be a manager or CEO when the economy is poor, times are difficult, and budgets are tight and limited. It is often thought that government jobs are ‘cushy’ jobs.  I am not looking for an easy, “cushy” job.  I am looking for a job with challenges, a job where I can assist people, a job where my problem resolution and management skills can be put to good use. 

What are you hoping to accomplish as County Assessor?

 I have identified several goals that, as County Assessor, I will work toward:

  • Information
    • Goal #1 is to improve the means to search for properties.  Locating properties on the current website can be frustrating, particularly when one is looking for properties in Teller County with similar names, e.g. Highway 67 and Henrietta.
    • Goal #2 is to work toward implementing a GIS system to enable searching for properties with mapping.
    • Goal #3 is to include more information on the Assessor’s website, including a Property Tax Payer’s Bill of Rights which will include clear, understandable information on protesting valuations and appeals process.  Additional information about important tax dates and Teller County will also be included.
    • Goal #4 is to post the County Assessor’s budget and expenses on the website.
    • Goal #5 is to make the current website much more user-friendly with easy-to-read, easily accessible information.
  • Education
    • Along with improving information, I will work toward providing education about the office, processes and procedures on the website, on written information submitted with the Notice of Value, and by providing seminars and talks with members of the public and through various public groups.
  • Customer Service
    • I will ensure that the Assessor’s office provides the highest level of service to the public.  Many in public service have forgotten for whom they work. They are called ‘public servants’ because they serve the public. 

I plan to implement an ‘outlier’ program to assist in remedying inequities in values.  When property values vary from one valuation period to the next at an amount in excess of norms for the area, those properties should get special attention. For example, if the increase for residential values in an area averages 3% and, a residential property in that area increases (or decreases) in excess of a reasonable range, e.g. 8%, that property should be reviewed and tested for reasonableness. 

Do you think that being an appraiser is a necessary qualification for this position?

 No, being an appraiser is not necessary for this position. This position serves the people and is the public official responsible for budget management and compliance, establishing goals, managing staff, allocating resources, policy administration and implementation, problem resolution, and managing risk.  The Assessor, as an elected official, must ensure transparency, accountability, and good stewardship.  The Assessor should be a great listener, a problem-solver and provider of excellent customer service.

The Assessor’s position is not an appraiser position, but the Assessor employs numerous appraisers whose job is to appraise property in a fair and equitable manner, ensuring that they are qualified and are performing their jobs competently.

The only statutory requirements for the office of Assessor are (1) a qualified elector and (2) one-year resident in the County, so it is important that a candidate have the knowledge, skills and abilities to meet the challenges of this office, particularly since we are in very difficult economic times.  It is important to have a thorough understanding of real estate, as well as management and supervisory skills.  I love learning and believe that one can only grow from education and, to further my personal growth and education, I have been taking courses toward an appraisal license, which will add another dimension to my educational background.

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Teller County Assessor Issues:

Colorado Tax Information – Taxpayers Have Rights!

Adam Smith said, “Land is the basis of all wealth” and owning property is a fundamental right.  The 5th and 14th amendments to the United States Constitution guarantee “We the People” shall not be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”.  While government has the right to tax, excess property taxation comes at the expense of the property owner and, thus can lead to a loss of some of those property rights. Taxpayers have rights and it’s important for you, as a taxpayer, to know your rights when it comes to your property. 

Click here to read more==> Colorado Tax Information – Taxpayers Have Rights!

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TAXE$ – They are YOUR business!

 

YOUR TAX ASSESSOR’S JOB:

The office of the Tax Assessor is established under Section 8 Article XIV of the Colorado Constitution.

Under Colorado Revised Statutes (Part 8, Article 10, Title 30), the duties of the Tax Assessor are:

1. Certify total valuation for assessment of all taxable property in Teller County.

2. Certify a list of owners of record for taxable real and personal property, when required.

3. To discover omitted assessable property.

4. To designate property in any municipality.

5. To receive appropriate documents & maintain accurate records.

The proper determination of value, which ultimately determines your property taxes, is important.  The ONLY qualifications required of candidates for tax assessor are (1) a qualified elector and (2) one-year resident in the County.

KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES! It’s YOUR business and your money.