Appeal 2023 Valuation for Summit County CO

With the massive increases we are seeing in valuations in Summit County, everybody is asking for more information to appeal the 2023 valuations on their properties. For the last few days I have been sending out sales for the time period 7/1/2017-6/30/2022, the period the assessor is utilizing for this year’s valuation. Homeowners are doing their research to see if there is grounds to appeal the 2023 Valuation for Summit County, CO.

What comes in the mail

The assessor sends out a short form that doesn’t provide much information. It basically says last time your property was worth this much, now it is worth that much. You have the right to appeal. That’s it. How do you appeal something when you have no information? The answer is to go online. Summit County has the Notice of Valuations online. Plug in your schedule number (it will be on the short form that came in the mail) and voila! Up comes a longer form that shows you the comps they used to determine value. It’s an invaluable piece of information that will make formulating your appeal possible.

What I see

I am looking at a very small sampling of Summit County valuations, and just those that are so high people are itching to appeal. The valuations are jumping roughly 45-75% from two years ago. Some are nearly double! I haven’t been giving them more than a quick look as I determine the relevant comparable properties to send. Sometimes I see there are better or more recent comps that could possibly justify a lower value. However, across the board I am seeing the time calculation driving the value of the comps sky high.

Time adjustments of value

After some digging, I discovered a table showing the multiplier used when time adjustments of values are calculated. There are different values for different types of properties. The one I linked is for residential properties. There is a separate explanation talking about what they look for and the point of such adjustments, but no calculations are shown. At least having the table that shows the numbers they use gives another avenue to dispute the data the assessor is using.

Disputing comps is easier

In my opinion, if you can look at the comps the assessor used and determine there are better comps they should use, that’s the easier way to appeal. Factors that impact the value of a property include:

• Location – Is it on the river, in town, ski in/ski out, far away from everything?
• Condition – Has it been remodeled, is it original, is there deferred maintenance?
• Year built – New construction will be worth more but, think like you are a buyer. Would you pay more to buy a 2010 house over a 1980 house. Probably so.
• View – This is big in Summit County. Ski slope views, lake or water views, mountain views or no views. What you can see from the property matters.
• Floor – If your condo is on the top floor vs the bottom floor. This may impact the view too.
• Features – Items like number of bedrooms or bathrooms, if there is a garage or fireplace can all impact value. Make sure the features on your property are correct and the comps have similar features.

Value on June 30, 2022

Remember, it doesn’t make any difference what has happened in the real estate market after June 30, 2022. The 2023 Notice of Valuation is the value given to your property on June 30, 2022. If your neighbor sold July 1, 2022 for half your value, you will have a hard time using that sale to influence any change in your valuation. If you have another way to dispute errors in the time adjustment, the July 1 sale may reinforce that an error was made. But by itself, it won’t matter.

Documentation

When you appeal, include everything the assessor needs plus lots and lots of documentation. Include information about why this comp is better than that one. MLS information will give square footage, bedroom & bath count and more. If those are areas you are disputing, include that property info sheet. Maybe the comments when it was sold say it is the best remodel in the building. That’s ammo to say it should have a higher value than your lesser remodel. If you need to include photos to show deferred maintenance or original condition, do that. Of course, you don’t want to have unsafe conditions in your property. Don’t include photos that might get you in trouble with the government, just fix those items. Document every single fact you claim. Prove it!

Get it to them on time

Be sure and send it to the right place by the June 8, 2023 deadline. Delivery of all the documentation can go by email, mail, in person delivery or online. Supporting documentation cannot be uploaded online. Most appeals will require documentation so that will be the least helpful option.

We are here to help

Let us provide you with the documentation you need to appeal. We can send you sales information relatively easily. A link will give you access to the details and photos of each sale. If you want to submit information on a specific property with your appeal, we can send you a pdf with the basic details about that property. We have a database of property information at our fingertips and are ready to provide that to you as needed. Send an email to meredith@mountain-living.com or a text 303-718-2465