Written by: Christopher Pike - Ouray County News
Posted by: Erin Eddy - Ouray Realty and Investments
www.ourayland.com
www.ridgwayland.com
January 28, 2009
OURAY — Despite plummeting real estate prices in many parts of the nation, property taxes in Ouray County will likely remain the same, some may see an increase.
So said Ouray County Assessor Susie Mayfield in a recent report to the Board of County Commissioners. "Tax bills will show a slight increase because the values did not change," said Mayfield.
Mayfield told commissioners that property notices will be mailed the first week of May and assessed valuations will reflect values through June 30, 2008.
Mayfield said reasons for no anticipated declines are due to a combination of a more stable mortgage economy in this area, and the time frame when the valuations are conducted. She said Ouray County joins most counties throughout the Western Slope who report that property values are not expected to decrease, partly due to the fact that the Western Slope does not have the same level of foreclosures like the Front Range counties, which has been large in scope and well publicized.
"Mesa County is not seeing a drop in sales prices, and until that is shown, there won't be a reduction in assessed valuation there either," Mayfield said. "All of the Western Slope counties want to put together press releases in the form of an informational campaign notifying those land owners that their real property values will not decrease. We're all seeing the same trends."
Revaluations are made every odd year, and Mayfield, and some declines in value may be reflected through June 30, 2010, when her department finishes its next review process. At that time there could be data as evidence of declining values beginning with the tumultuous period beginning in last year's third quarter, when the nationwide banking credit crash occurred.
Another reason that some valuations will be less in certain communities is because some mil levies have changed. Mayfield explained that the mil levy varies when some communities or government districts are subject to the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). Mayfield said under TABOR, a mil levy cannot increase without a vote.
Mayfield said last week that the Assessor's office does not make valuations based upon an individual property, but rather a "mass appraisal as part of our data analysis."
She explained that Log Hill Mesa property values may vary, for example, depending upon whether the lot or the residence is located on the edge of the escarpment or in the interior of the mesa.
Commissioner Keith Meinert jokingly encouraged Mayfield to make a mass mailing, (and) "do anything we can do to explain the voodoo calculations that you all go through and that people should not anticipate seeing a reduction in property values and may even see an increase."
For information go to the Assessor's Office link on the county website (www.ouraycountyco.gov).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Ridgway Colorado property values
Despite Economy, Property Values Not Expected to Decline
OURAY – With the housing market in shambles, property owners in Ouray County might have hopes that their property value will drop after this year’s state mandated valuation and thus lowering their 2010 property taxes. Ouray County Assessor Susie Mayfield said on Monday that probably won’t be the case.
“A majority of Western Slope counties are expecting them [property values] to stay the same or go up” Mayfield told the Ouray County Commissioners at their meeting on Monday. “The Western Slope has not had major foreclosures like the Eastern Slope counties have had. Because of oil and gas, Mesa County is not seeing a drop is sales prices and neither are any resort communities.”
Mayfield told the commissioners in her report that officials from Western Slope counties are getting together and planning an informational campaign to notify property owners that they shouldn’t expect property values to decrease. Every odd year, county assessors across the state must perform a state mandated revaluation of every property within the county. The revaluation is based on an analysis of market sales during the timeframe of Jan. 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Once the revaluations are complete, a Notice of Valuation indicating the change in actual value of a property will be mailed to its owner the first week of May 2009. This new value will be used in the calculation of property taxes owed in January 2010.
“Just because they are just sitting out there on the market, it doesn’t mean their values are going to drop,” she said. “We expect to get some phone calls.”
Mayfield said she is exploring various possibilities for informing taxpayers about this year’s revaluation and what to expect. Commissioner Keith Meinert said it might be worth mailing information to owners in Ouray County to make sure the process is clear.
“If you thought it would be helpful to do a mass mailing, I think it would be worth the expense to get the message out there properly,” Meinert said. “Anything we can do to explain the voodoo calculations that you all go through and that people should not anticipate seeing a reduction in property values and may even see an increase.”
Tax payers in Ouray County can expect the 2008 abstract of assessment and levies in their mailbox in the next few weeks.
Written by: Gus Jarvis of the Ouray County Watch
Posted by: Erin Eddy
www.ourayland.com
www.ridgwayland.com
OURAY – With the housing market in shambles, property owners in Ouray County might have hopes that their property value will drop after this year’s state mandated valuation and thus lowering their 2010 property taxes. Ouray County Assessor Susie Mayfield said on Monday that probably won’t be the case.
“A majority of Western Slope counties are expecting them [property values] to stay the same or go up” Mayfield told the Ouray County Commissioners at their meeting on Monday. “The Western Slope has not had major foreclosures like the Eastern Slope counties have had. Because of oil and gas, Mesa County is not seeing a drop is sales prices and neither are any resort communities.”
Mayfield told the commissioners in her report that officials from Western Slope counties are getting together and planning an informational campaign to notify property owners that they shouldn’t expect property values to decrease. Every odd year, county assessors across the state must perform a state mandated revaluation of every property within the county. The revaluation is based on an analysis of market sales during the timeframe of Jan. 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
Once the revaluations are complete, a Notice of Valuation indicating the change in actual value of a property will be mailed to its owner the first week of May 2009. This new value will be used in the calculation of property taxes owed in January 2010.
“Just because they are just sitting out there on the market, it doesn’t mean their values are going to drop,” she said. “We expect to get some phone calls.”
Mayfield said she is exploring various possibilities for informing taxpayers about this year’s revaluation and what to expect. Commissioner Keith Meinert said it might be worth mailing information to owners in Ouray County to make sure the process is clear.
“If you thought it would be helpful to do a mass mailing, I think it would be worth the expense to get the message out there properly,” Meinert said. “Anything we can do to explain the voodoo calculations that you all go through and that people should not anticipate seeing a reduction in property values and may even see an increase.”
Tax payers in Ouray County can expect the 2008 abstract of assessment and levies in their mailbox in the next few weeks.
Written by: Gus Jarvis of the Ouray County Watch
Posted by: Erin Eddy
www.ourayland.com
www.ridgwayland.com
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