With property valuations season here again, and the sticker shock of an average of 40% increase in values, we thought we’d ask for homeowners’ experiences protesting their valuations in the past, in an effort to offer up tips for the greatest chance of success.
Here’s what they told us, both on our Coloradoan Conversations platform and on the Fort Collins subreddit of Reddit.
You can find more information on how the protest process works by reading Pat Ferrier’s story this week about the protests already flowing in.
Here’s a recap of their experiences, some coming from real estate professionals:
It’s all about getting ‘comps’
“Your best path will be to find houses in your neighborhood that sold recently for less,” a Redditor said.
“It’s essential to have strong comparable sales to support a lower property value when filing a protest. Filing a protest solely because you want the value lower may not be beneficial, as the county may review and potentially raise the value further,” another person said.
“I went in front of the board with a spreadsheet of comparable houses, their tax data and size compared to mine,” a Redditor said. “Also, photos of my house and the condition of the space in question. That combination was enough to win at the time.”
So look for homes of similar size and style that sold during the time frame defined by the assessor’s office. Which leads us to an important point when looking for comps:
Be mindful of the key dates
Think you’ve got a good case for lowering your assessment value because comparable homes are selling for less? Be careful:
- You need to get comps of sales from the right period of time, a person on Reddit noted. That’s July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022. The assessor also takes into account appreciation on homes in the time since that period.
- Note the deadline to protest is June 8.
How do I find comps?
- “Go to the website (larimer.gov/assessor) and go to the online appeal form. You can bring up all the comps that way,” one Redditor advised. Once you enter your parcel number, you can look through a list of what the assessor deems comparable properties.
- Or, another way, if you just look up your own property, you can click on the “Comparables (Nearby Sales)” tab. Laura E. advises: “Click on the various columns to sort by age or size or building type, etc., to see if they really do compare to yours. Use these guidelines from the assessor: Same/similar design, subdivision and neighborhood, within 20% of square footage, within 15 of year built, same style (i.e. 2 story).”
- “Look at other recent sales in your neighborhood via Zillow or personal knowledge to see if something got left off that county comps list. Use County Assessor’s interactive map of valuations to locate other parcels to compare to yours,” Laura said. But a warning here: “When it comes to using something like Zillow,” Sean D. said, “I would contact a local real estate professional for actual data, not Zillow (their data is so far off it’s comical).”
- “Near the end (of the appeal form) they have a screen that you can submit your own (comparable that might not be on the county’s list),” a Redditor advised. “I did not use any of the supplied ones. You will need to look up the properties’ parcel numbers on your comps.”
- “Not just overall sales prices but price per square foot,” a Redditor suggested. “Look at lot sizes as well for the underlying land value. See if the homes that your comparing to have any unique features of value, recent construction or permits associated with them — i.e. a new roof, sunroom, etc.”
- On that last point, consider this from Sean D.: “Having been a referee for the county before in settling valuation concerns, I do agree that recently “flipped” properties should (make a case for) deductions for the valuation of properties that haven’t been “super-updated,” but I will say (and yes, I’m sorry if this is harsh) the lack of taking care of your home does not reduce what the value should be, for tax purposes. There are options out there for disputing your valuation. Please use facts over feelings when disputing, and you should get a favorable decision.”
- “When I refinanced my house, I mailed the assessor’s office the appraisal done at the time of the refi. They reduced my value to what was listed on that appraisal. This was a couple years ago,” Ann F. said.
Is protesting online or in-person better?
Bob C. said: “The only feedback I ever received was to always do it in person, never via mail/email.”
That’s a question we don’t have a definitive answer to, but there were many anecdotes that filing online led to approval of a protest.
“Did ours twice, via the mail. Reduced both times. 20%, the most recent time,” Greg P. said.
“I’ve done it once before — pulled up recent comps for similar homes/square footage, etc., filled out the form, and got a modest reduction in the assessed value and a modest reduction in property tax,” a Fort Collins subredditor reported.