LESLIE MONACO REAL ESTATE

Real Estate Term of the Day: Assessed Value, Assessment & Assessor

ASSESSED VALUE – the value established for property tax purposes (Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms)

ASSESSMENT – the amount of tax or special payment due to a municipality or association (Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms)

ASSESSOR – an official who determines property tax assessments (Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms)

According to the Douglas County Assessors site, the assessor is responsible for listing, classifying, and valuing all property in the county in accordance with state laws. Colorado law is very specific in establishing how assessors value property:

• Real property must be revalued every odd numbered year.
• The actual value of real property is based on its value as of the appraisal date, which is the June 30th of the year prior to the reappraisal year.
• Residential property may be valued using only the market approach to value. In this approach, the value of the subject property is based on an analysis of comparable sales to predict the price properties would have sold for on the appraisal date.
• For tax years 2011 and 2012, the assessor must use a minimum of the comparable sales between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. However, the assessor is authorized to include and analyze additional sales that occurred up to five years preceding June 30, 2010, adding sales in six month increments.  The total time frame for sales data can vary by county in Metro Denver (source: http://www.douglas.co.us/assessor/Property_Assessment_and_Taxes.html)

Arapahoe County has a great brochure to help understand property taxes

Below are the links to the assessor offices for each county in Metro Denver:

• ADAMS COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
• ARAPAHOE COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
• BROOMFIELD COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
• DENVER COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
• DOUGLAS COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
• JEFFERSON COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE

As a complimentary service to my clients, I am happy to discuss your assessed valuation and help you understand how to protest the valuation if you feel the value is too high, once your home is revalued in 2013!!!