If a property owner is determined enough, he or she can protest a property assessment all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court.
It may be rare and not recommended, but it is possible.
Assessors plug comparable sales information into a statistical model that relies on legal property descriptions in county records.
When protesting an assessment, among the easiest things to correct are errors in the basics, such as square footage or room counts. Assessors also are interested in any major changes in the condition of the property – for example, a sinkhole that has opened up under the garage.
In most cases, those items can be handled with a simple call to the assessor, said JoAnn Groff, property tax administrator with the Colorado Division of Property Taxation.
An appeal takes more work when property owners disagree with the sales that assessors used for comparison. Then they’ll need to gather comparable sales data that bolster their argument. Typically three or four are needed to build a strong case.
Increasingly, comparable sales are available online at websites such as Zillow.com or Trulia.com. Sales can also be researched at the county clerk and recorder office.
A real estate agent who has worked with the property owner may also provide them as a favor.
Assessors encourage people to appeal efficiently. For example, don’t cherry-pick the lowest sales for your comparison while throwing out expensive ones, and make sure all sales used are dated before June 30, 2006.
Homeowners must protest by June 1, and assessors in most counties have until the end of June to accept or reject a protest.
If rejected, property owners have another 30 days to petition the county board of equalization, a body that usually consists of county commissioners or their appointees.
Still not happy? Property owners have three options: take the case to district court, seek binding arbitration, or approach the Colorado Board of Assessment Appeals.
Most protesters – about 3,000 every two years – go before the board, which is made up of professional appraisers, said Diane Fechisin, the board’s director. By this point, county assessors have typically done on-site appraisals of the contested properties. Often the sides come to terms or drop the appeal.
What many people don’t realize is that they have another chance to appeal a valuation by contacting the assessor’s office during May the following year to reflect changes that have occurred, Fechisin said.
Board rulings can be contested before the Colorado Court of Appeals, whose decisions could in some cases be appealed before the Colorado Supreme Court.
In cases where a county assessor botched the calculations or showed bias, the state can order a reappraisal.
In 2005, Costilla County was ordered to reappraise all home values because of an error in its statistical formulas.
