Feeling overvalued?

If you are one of the 120,000 property owners in Boulder County who have received a notice of property valuation in recent weeks, you are likely to have rolled back on your heels for a moment. The compulsory biennial recalculation of property values is close to 18 percent higher for Niwot residential properties than the previous county-assigned values.

Niwot was on the high end of value upticks in the county, with the increases beginning at around nine percent. Although the demand for property in the Niwot Market area is no longer increasing at an accelerated rate, the high level of property sales owing to abundant employment opportunities and low inventory levels is still the driving force in increasing the value of properties.

Reviewing the diminutive card with the big new numbers is likely to have piqued your interest in how those values were derived. There is a way to dig a bit deeper and examine the information the county utilized to determine for yourself if your property is being overvalued.

Appraisal information through June 2018 was the basis of the latest stated value and you have access to the specific properties yours was compared to by visiting: http://www.BoulderCounty.org/property-and-land/assessor/appeals/ and clicking on the Search Online for your Valuation option.

The account number on your card beginning with the letter R along with your PIN number (on the postcard notice) will be the keys to a fuller picture and will give you access to tools and background information. You’ll be able to review your property’s valuation record, search comparable properties in this market area, and you may initiate a petition to reevaluate your home’s value through an appeal process if you believe your property didn’t get a fair shake.

While it may initially feel good to know your property has significantly gone up in value, your next reaction is likely to be apprehension because you’ll be shelling out more for property taxes. An estimation of your specific 2019 property tax share is listed under your property’s record.

Clicking on the estimator link takes into consideration the tricky mill levy multiplier. That mil rate is how we fund numerous district services including our schools and fire district, along with the portion that Boulder County receives from the unincorporated county area.

Niwot resident Dick Piland said, “In past years, I’ve protested and managed to bring it (the assessed value) down, so the protest system works. Back in 2010, when housing prices were declining in Boulder, I did real well. If you’ve done your homework and you know what you’re talking about, they’ll put you back in the computer and come up with a different number.”

Piland said he was able to successfully appeal past values because the comparable houses used were not analogous to his home in terms of finishes for instance. What he presented was convincing enough to the assessor’s office staff and the value was adjusted downward.

Pat Murphy, owner of Niwot Real Estate, said the notice she received regarding the value of her property at 79th Street and Niwot Road reflects an increase of 33 percent in the last two years, but that it’s a realistic assessment.

“The assessor has a job and he has to look at comparables.I knew it was going to go up and I won’t fight it,” Murphy said.

While notices state that the appeal deadline is June 1st, appeals will be accepted up until midnight on June 3rd (due to June 1 falling on a Saturday) and may be completed either online or in person at the Boulder County Assessor’s office in the Boulder County Courthouse building at 1325 Pearl Street, second floor, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.