The 2009 Reappraisal and Notices of Valuation from Teri Cox, Douglas County Assessor

On May 1st, Notices of Valuation for the 2009 reappraisal will be mailed to all property owners in Douglas County. Every two years the assessor’s office revalues all real estate in the county as of an appraisal date set by state law. This year the date is June 30, 2008. One way to think of an appraisal date is to ask what your property could have sold for on that date. Every reappraisal, we disregard the old valuations and start from scratch using an entirely new sales list. In other words, we aren’t allowed to adjust values up or down by a percentage, but instead have to analyze sales from a specific time frame –in the case of the 2009 reappraisal this was from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008. On June 30, 2008 our economy looked very different than it does today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 11,350. The Unemployment Rate was 5.6%. While the June 30, 2008 economy no longer exists, Colorado law still tells us that we must value property as of that date. We cannot consider sales or market influences that occurred after June 30, 2008. Whether you own property in Douglas County or anywhere else in Colorado, the same dates apply because reappraisals are part of our state constitution. For more information about the 2009 reappraisal and sales from your area, please visit the Douglas County Assessor website at: www.douglas.co.us/assessor, or phone our office at 303.660.7450.

Take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to play the world class golf course at Perry Park Country Club in Larkspur Colorado! The Douglas County 4H Foundation is sponsoring a benefit golf tournament on July 13, 2009. Registration begins at 8:00am and Tee Time is at 9:00am. The tournament will be a scramble format with a shotgun start.  An awards banquet and meal will follow the tournament, plus lots and lots of door prizes! Proceeds from this tournament will be used for educational financial assistance to Douglas County youth through 4H scholarships. Since its inception the foundation has given over $1,000,000 in scholarships.  The Foundation has a long and successful history of providing educational programs and scholarships to the youth of Douglas County. Please join us in continuing this effort. Sponsorship opportunities are available. If you are interested in playing in the tournament or being a sponsor please contact Maryjo Woodrick at CSU Extension / Douglas County 720-733-6930.  

Revised February 17, 2009

Just signed and sealed…a $787 Billion Stimulus Plan made up of tax cuts and spending programs aims at reviving the US economy. Although the package was scaled down from nearly $1 Trillion, it still stands as the largest antirecession effort since World War II. Home owners and potential homebuyers stand to gain from key provisions in this stimulus plan. Here is what we know as of today…

Tax Credit for Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income. The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

Additional Housing-Related Provisions

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUDAssisted Housing—This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs. Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance—This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

More Help for Homeowners in the Future

Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.

According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.

While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be good for the housing industry as a whole. That’s because, assisting struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in turn, will help stabilize home prices.

What happens to your credit score if you stop making your monthly mortgage payments? I found out some useful information from Tim Duval, a Mortgage Loan Consultant, with WrStarkey Inc.

Short Sale: A short sale will strongly hurt your credit score. The vast majority of lenders will not approve you for a mortgage for at least 12 months, maybe more, after the short sale. A short sale is, you own your home but have stopped making payments, and have sold the home to a buyer, at a lender approved reduced price, that is lower than what you owe on the property.

Foreclosure: A foreclosure will strongly hurt your credit score. It is very similar to a short sale. The vast majority of lenders will not approve you for a mortgage for at least 12 months, maybe more, after the foreclosure. A foreclosure is, you own your home, have stopped making payments, and the lender has foreclosed on the property and taken possession.

Behind in Payments or Skipped a Payment. Unfortunately, this also can impact your credit scores by reducing your score approximately a hundred points. Right now, lenders like to see a 720 credit score for a home purchase, so a reduction of 100 points to 620, may cause difficulty in purchasing a new home or getting a car loan.

What can you do? There are some great programs offered by Douglas County including a Foreclosure Mediation Program. I would think all the counties would have something similar but Douglas County will sit down, meet with you and offer mediation between you and your lender.

If you are struggling to make your mortgage payments, you may want to discuss your concerns with your lender. Below is a list of terms that may help you in your communication.

 Loan Modification: If you can prove you are upside-down in your current mortgage (you owe more on the home than you can sell it for), you might be able to get your current loan modified. Lenders have much more to lose by foreclosing and much more to gain from a loan modification

Short Sale: You may want to get out from under a property you can no longer afford, but you cannot sell it for enough to pay back all the money you owe on it. Lenders may be willing to accept less than they are owed to allow you to sell and walk away debt-free, but they will want to see a Comparative Market Analysis (call me and I’ll do the research and provide you with one) and copies of your taxes, bank statements, etc., before agreeing to such a proposition.

Short refinance: Like a short sale, a short refinance (short refi) calls for the lender to accept less than the full balance due on the loan, so you can refinance into new mortgage with a lower balance and lower monthly payments. Before agreeing to a short refi, lenders want to see a Comparative Market Analysis (call me and I’ll do the research and provide you with one) to make sure the property is truly worth less than what’s owed on it.

Principal forbearance: A principal forbearance is sort of a cross between a short refi and a loan modification, but the lender does not completely forgive the difference between what’s owed on the property and its market value. Instead, the lender agrees to collect the difference later – when you sell or refinance the property. Like a short refi, the new monthly payment is calculated on a lower principal balance (based on the property’s market value), resulting in a lower monthly payment.

The Comparative Market Analysis is key for establishing the property’s true market value.  It is important for you to contact your lender, to find out what your options are, but be sure to speak with the “Loss Mitigator” and not just a customer service rep. Please email or call me if you need a Comparative Market Analysis, and with this important information in hand, you will have a professional opinion of the current value of your property, which will assist you in your communications and negotiations with your lender. Amy Maier, Amy@AmySellsHomes.net or 303 660-8600.

The terms above are provided by Ralph R. Roberts who is a consumer advocate, spokesperson for Federal Loan Modification Law Center, host of KeepMyHouse.com, and author of numerous books, including Foreclosure Self-Defense For Dummies and Loan Modification For Dummies (Summer, 2009). Ralph is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan and can be reached at RalphRoberts@RalphRoberts.com.

Granted, a public meeting was held before eliminating the service, albeit a highly unpublicized meeting in Parker.  It is important to note that RTDʼS website says that attendance at meetings is not mandatory, rather comments can be sent.  However, we were told when they eliminated service in Franktown, one of the reasons they finalized their decision to eliminate the service was that there was not enough citizenʼs attending the meeting to warrant a challenge to their decision.  Now RTD is planning on elimination of the following Routes that would further eliminate service in Douglas County:

Elimination of bus route 410. This route goes from the Pinery and downtown Parker to the Lincoln light rail station.

Elimination of the Parker Call n Ride and Access a Ride

Elimination of the Lone Tree Call n Ride on Saturdays

Elimination of the Highlands Ranch Call n Ride

Elimination of the light rail G line. This is the direct service line from the 9 Mile (225) station to the Southeast stations.

Elimination of bus route 465. This route goes from the tech center south along the highway to Skyridge hospital.

Apparently, these routes are what they refer to as ʽSubsidizedʼ using the following formula in scaling back or eliminating service ignoring citizens protests: The total cost of providing service minus the revenues generated via rider ship divided by the rider ship.  They then list the amounts subsidized and draw a line.  The RTD formula conveniently ignores the vast sales tax revenue generated by the large consumer base within the areas targeted for service elimination.

 At some point one has to wonder if the RTD lost site of why they were created in the first place.  Also, at what point can a legal challenge be mounted in terms of service elimination as opposed to scaling back?  For example, if the RTD unilaterally decided to eliminate all bus service from outlying regions of the district and service only routes within the confines of Denver County, is there no check and balance?  What other alternatives has the RTD examined beyond simple elimination?  If it’s too costly to provide a large underutilized bus to an area, why not ‘right size’ and provide service with a smaller vehicle. Our understanding is that the RTD was voted in by the citizens of the proposed regional district at the time, and that this vote was clearly based upon the premise of being provided a service. 

 Obviously, nowhere in the verbiage of the bill, was there a provision that stated the RTD can unilaterally decide to eliminate service to entire parts of the district at their discretion yet continue to impose a tax.

Castle Rock was successful in eliminating the tax burden when no service was provided, but this is no simple process as it was a legislative decision regarding the initial boundaries once the voters had approved creation of the RTD.  Castle Rock government had to find both a Senator and a Representative of the House to sponsor a House bill to repeal the tax.  The number of this bill that did eventually pass is H.B. 04-1066.  Furthermore, Castle Rockʽs repeal of the tax was considered by those who chose to sponsor the bill because there was a “territorial” trade, which was the south Meridian Area along Lincoln at the Wild life Experience being added to RTD if Castle Rock could choose to opt out. This option for Franktown citizens to repeal the tax had been considered, but given the tremendous if not impossible undertaking to get Colorado legislators to do anything that would decrease the capability of RTD to finance the debt created by the original Bonds, there was no sponsors for the bill.  That the RTD continues to issue new Bonds, only serves to increase that original debt.

 We totally understand the fiscal nature of RTD in terms of the obligations that come with bonds sold to investors, and the expectation of yields based on revenue collected, but have to go back to that simple fact that the district was voted in and created to serve the needs of the citizens, not as a financial instrument.  RTD mission statement is this:  “To meet our constituents’ present and future public transit needs by offering safe, clean, reliable, courteous, accessible and cost-effective service throughout the district.”

 What appears to be happening is that the RTD is using the unfortunate citizens of Douglas County (and perhaps other counties) who happen to be within the outer boundaries of the District to subsidize the rider ship of the more populated regions and of course to maintain the revenue collected through the sales tax in areas where service will no longer be provided.  What is further becoming quite evident is that the RTD business model is flawed (and biased in favor of investors) in that it does not balance cost of operation including debt service against total revenue collected.  Rather, it utilizes operational service elimination as a means of continuing to sustain higher bond yields at the expense of the citizens who will no longer receive the benefit they are paying for, i.e. public transportation.  No wonder “Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘AA’ rating to the Regional Transportation District, Colorado’s (RTD) $40,650,000 sales tax revenue refunding bonds, series 2008A.”

 Citizens who currently share the tax burden without the benefit of service, as well as those who are about to join these ranks have a right to know the  answer to very important questions such as; to whom is the RTD accountable?  What about students who commute from Franktown and Parker to the Auraria Campus?  What about the commuters from the Franktown area who currently drive to the Pinery when the Pinery service is eliminated, or those in Parker when that service is compromised? What about that old premise regarding ʽtaxation without representationʼ? Finally, how will the increased automobile traffic affect ʽgreenʼ initiatives? There will be a public meeting at the Parker Town Hall, 20120 E. Main Street in the Council Chambers on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 7:00 p.m.

We urge you to make this meeting public knowledge, and hope that you might be as interested as we are in getting some answers.

 Arnie and Bobbi Neiss

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn’t know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency) Campaign.