Posted on 07/30/2023 6:46:24 AM PDT by george76
Like a lot of Coloradans, residents of Costilla County balked at the changes to their property values because of what it means for their property taxes. Higher values, higher taxes. The county assessor is in charge of determining that value, but the values that people are getting back don't make much sense to them right now.
Whether you are Joe C. Rodriguez who has lived in southern Colorado for 79 years, or Tom Philips who moved out there in 2021 for his retirement home, it's the same problem across the board. They both got increased values out of what they expected (even accounting for property value increases post-COVID). When they challenged that number, they both had their new, higher value raised even higher instead of lower. Joe's went from $207,000 up to $382,000.
...
Tom saw his new home went on the market for $375,000, then the sellers bumped it up to $400,000...but it never sold. He pulled the trigger in 2021 when it dropped back down to $250,000.
His assessment from the Costilla County Assessor came back as $425,879. He appealed, and the value jumped up to $495,000.
"It feels punitive," Tom said, referencing the increases after challenges.
...
Both Tom and Joe are now looking for new solutions to fight what they feel is a major mistake. They're looking to the state government to address the issues down at the county office, and Tom is starting a recall petition for the county assessor. Both are hoping their values can be adjusted to something more reasonable.
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
I wonder what party they voted for?
Skid row property values have increased 100k plus in many locations
Colorado should have something like Prop 13 in California. It limits property taxes.
They should be real familiar with that, since half of them are from there.
It is not a mistake.
They want to justify squeezing more money out of you.
Never assume that the government at any level is mostly benevolent. Always treat their actions as hostile and respond accordingly. Or you end up being crunched up in the maw of the machine because they will never admit that they are wrong unless forced to do so.
Wait till they see what their home owner’s insurance rates jump to now.
Someone I know who studied tax law said the cruelest tax of all is property tax, because you essentially rent your own property and can be evicted for not paying rent.
This person is not from the United States; I doubt that would be taught here.
Unrealized property price gains are fictional and should not be taxable. The idea is to force people to give up their property and make us all renters, like the migrants. “They” call that equity.
Let's talk about that. My question is when they were paying those property taxes, where did that money go, and who had control over how that money was spent?
My assertion is that lowering local property taxes, means that the State ends up picking up the slack, and along with that increases the power of the State over the localities.
I would rather pay more taxes locally, where I have more say over how the money is spent, than at the State and Federal level.
Only people who run the government deserve to have homes.
mine saw a 20% increase. I have done no improvements in the last year. there are multiple houses in my neighborhood that were sold in the last 2 years to flippers who gutted remodeled and sold at twice or more what they paid for the house-350-425k range. The dumb bass assessor we have assumes all the houses in the neighborhood are worth that, and smelling new revenue, raised everyone a good bit. I filed my usual protest. Even remodeled, the homes are not worth that and have been bought by “out of staters” who dont know better.
Prop 13 was definitely needed in its day—the elderly were often unable to pay their reassessed property taxes on modest homes they had lived in for decades.
However it has created a “two class” system of old homeowners and new ones—and of course created a strong motivation for folks to stay where they are instead of moving—for any reason.
Another untold story is how many dead people are still “alive” in their houses which are actually lived in by family members.
New York City has the same issue with rent control—there are stunning incentives not to report a relative’s death.
The issues cannot be dealt with until/unless they are openly discussed.
Good. People deserve to be punished. I’m tired of the apathy across the country. My compassion for my fellow man is pretty much exhausted. I reserve what little I have remaining for the people who matter to me the most.
Don’t adjust the values, adjust the rate.
It looks like mine will double next year. However the taxes were $275 for this year. I live in an area where they are building a lot of homes. We’ll see how that shakes out.
Our small town in CT has 95% of its expenses paid for by the state.
As you say that gives the state a lot of control over how the money is spent—but in this case it is the state’s money so kinda hard to complain about it.
I have come to believe that Colorado is Mini- California.
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