HomeMy WebLinkAbout871803.tiff BEFORE THE WELD COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
IN RE: BOARD OF EQUALIZATION PETITION OF MR. WILLIAM L.
CROSIER, 2721 BUENA VISTA DRIVE, GREELEY, COLORADO
80631
JULY 16 , 1987
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT:
GORDON E, LACY, CHAIRMAN
C.W. (BILL) KIRBY, PRO-TEM
GENE R. BRANTNER
JACQUELINE JOHNSON
FRANK YAMAGUCHI
ALSO PRESENT:
WILLIAM L. CROSIER, PETITIONER, PRO SE
CLIFFORD ROSSLER, OF THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE
RICHARD KEIRNES, WELD COUNTY ASSESSOR
LEE D. MORRISON, ASSISTANT WELD COUNTY ATTORNEY
TOMMIE ANTUNA, ACTING CLERK TO THE BOARD
871803
4SQOD1
CHAIRMAN LACY: Next we have the petition from William L.
Crosier.
MR. KEIRNES: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Cliff Rossler, appraiser with
the Assessor' s Office, will present this case.
MR. ROSSLER: Good morning. My name is Cliff Rossler. The
subject property is owned by Mr. William L. Crosier, of 2721 Buena
Vista Drive in Panorama Park, located here in Greeley. The
subject property was built in 1963. The square footage of the
house is 2 ,003 with a value of per square foot, without land, of
$41 .30 . I 've used four comparables to the property. There was
none exactly in the immediate area of sales during the base year
of ' 83- ' 84 for the '85 comparables that I 've used , that did sell
during that time period. It was 1912 26th Avenue in Cottonwood.
This sold on 5/17 of ' 84 for 165 ,000 and is labeled as a lot that
sold for 19 ,500 . This property was built in 1964 , has a square
footage of 2 ,258 square feet. It has no finished basement. It
does have an attached garage, and this sold without land for
$64 . 44 a square foot. The number two comparable that I have used
is at 1951 Montview Drive in Glenmere that sold 6/15 of ' 84 for
123 ,000 . This home was built in 1950 . It has a square footage of
1 ,820 square foot. It does have 1 ,120 square foot of finished
basement, but this sold for 48 ,094 without land. My third
comparable that I am using is 1720 58th Avenue in Highland Knolls,
sold in 5/18 of ' 83 for 96 ,900 . This was built in 1983 , so it is
a new house. This house is a wood framed house, the other
comparables and the subject property is a masonry house, brick
veneer. This house sold for $46 .86 a square foot. My last
comparable is 1995 26th Avenue, in Cascade, and this sold in 4/19
of ' 84 . It is a newer house. In 1972 it was built, with 2 ,318
square feet. This is a masonry style house. This sold for $55 .87
a square foot, without land. On my opinion, based on the
comparables, my best comparable is 1912 26th Avenue. It is equal
in age and in size, the closest that we have, and that is my
basis. And I feel that it represents fair market value.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Questions for Mr. Rossler from the Board? At
this time I 'd ask Mr. Crosier to come forward to the microphone
and give us further information that he might have. State your
name and address please.
MR. CROSIER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, my name
is Bill L. Crosier, 2721 Buena Vista Drive, Greeley. Now I am not
familiar with any of the specific houses used as comparables. I
can mentally picture about where 1912 26th Avenue is in the
Cottonwood Subdivision. It' s north of 20th Street, or would be
north of 20th Street, and that would be, I don ' t know, seven or
eight or so blocks away, I guess . I 'm not really sure. The
second comparable appears to be in the Glenmere area which are
typically higher valued houses in that area, since Glenmere has
been made a private public park on the weekends . And I am just
absolutely not familiar at all with the last two. The information
I would provide to the Board is that, and I 'm sorry I did not have
the foresight to prepare one copy for each of you, so with your
indulgence I ' ll read into the record what I have. I have a recent
appraisal by Mr. Ernie Austin who. . .
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CHAIRMAN LACY: Mr. Crosier, that information is on the back
of our form, the information on the appraisal in 1986 .
MR. CROSIER: Yes, it was either in January-February, 1986,
or possibly as early as December, 1985 . I just don ' t recall
exactly when the date was.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Okay. You do understand that the base year
or the assessed year on this is 1983-84 . That is what we are
working with. Okay. You do understand that that ' s what the
Assessor has to work with is ' 83- ' 84 values.
MR. CROSIER: As well as I understand any of this , I guess I
understand.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Okay. Thank you.
MR. CROSIER: What you have written there is my
summarization, I believe, of primarily Mr. Austin 's
qualifications .
CHAIRMAN LACY: Right.
MR. CROSIER: And he does appear to be extremely well
qualified. He has a great amount of experience, both in terms of
actual work and longevity in this community. You will note, I
guess I put on that also that, the valuation he placed on the
property. I would advise the Board that my house was built, I
forget what he said, I think he said 1961 , was it?
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: ' 63.
MR. CROSIER: ' 63 . I knew it was early ' 60 ' s. I couldn' t
remember exactly what year. It was originally built by Wayman
Walker and sold to William Soule' who I then bought it from. It' s
hard for me to discuss the comparables which appears to be a
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relevant thing to do here without knowing the houses . I guess
perhaps to elaborate on the residence I live in and perhaps the
part of the foundation and basis for which a very qualified man,
Ernie Austin, used to place his valuation on it is that it is, I
guess, as old as comparable number one . Something that wouldn ' t
appear here is that, for whatever reason, the original builder
decided it would be a clever idea to put different colors of
bricks in the thing, and it looks like, frankly, it ' s not all
that, given it' s surroundings with the other houses, it ' s kind of
not as attractive as the others by quite a bit. I don' t really
know what else to address other than relying rather heavily on an
appraisal that was done not in contemplation of an assessed
valuation hearing, that was done totally for independent reasons,
strictly for fair market value and interestingly at about the
time , well not quite , it was even done after the time of the sale
of comparable number one. And I couldn't even give you a
comparable that ' s not listed here that I 'm familiar with in the
area because I don't know of any house up in that area that would
be similar that has recently sold.
MR MORRISON: Did Mr. Austin' s report site comparables?
MR. CROSIER: I don 't believe it does, no. It ' s my
understanding though that in--do you have a copy of his thing
here? Perhaps it would be well for me to at least read that much
of it to you.
MR. ROSSLER: The copy that you sent to us?
MR. CROSIER: Do you have a copy?
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MR. ROSSLER: I guess . What you had provided to us the day
that you mailed it.
MR CROSIER: Yes, that ' s it.
MR. KIRBY: But you don't have an actual appraisal .
MR. CROSIER: Well yes, Mr. . . .
MR. KIRBY: No, but I mean a formal appraisal with comparables
with the documentation and all.
MR. CROSIER: I don't have the same type of appraisal, no, as
you 're mentioning with the comparables , although I . . . not knowing
specifically. . .
MR. KIRBY: I mean an estimate of value by a realtor no
matter how competent, and I know Ernie well and I give him a lot
of credibility, but it' s not the same thing as a formal appraisal.
That was my question.
MR. CROSIER: Well, I appreciate what you're saying, Mr.
Kirby. I would submit that his absence of comparables in his
letter setting the value in his opinion is just as valid as the
appraisal set by this gentleman using comparables that are nowhere
near the neighborhood. I could go out and get comparables equally
far away from 2721 Buena Vista Drive but really what credence does
that have. As far as I can tell, the nearest to the comparables
is eight or so blocks away, and I don't think that provides the
Board a true comparable, usable figure on which to base a
decision. I think the actual on-site inspection of a very
qualified and certified appraiser from this area who does his work
primarily in this area who was in the house, who was on the
property, has more credibility than comparables that are so far
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removed from the location. I ' ll tell the Board right now I would
stand corrected if I 'm misrepresenting that the nearest of the
comparables is about eight blocks away. I don't know the exact
number of blocks but the one I can kind of think about is the 1912
26th Avenue in Cottonwood. And I know that' s north of 20th
Street. I know where 26th Avenue is, and I think that' s eight or
perhaps ten blocks away.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Do we have pictures of the comparables
on the property?
MR. ROSSLER: Yes, we do.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: And the subject property.
MR. ROSSLER: Yes. Mr. Chairman, I might state that when I
first opened up, I 'd say that I could not find comparables in the
immediate neighborhood. We research our property by
neighborhoods, and if we cannot find them by neighborhoods
comparable to it, we go by style and square footage. And this is
what I used with style, a one-story with some finished basement,
and as close to the age and the square footage as I possibly can.
MR. KIRBY: This is the subject.
CHAIRMAN LACY: That goes back to Keith I guess.
MR. KIRBY: I guess one thing that should be pointed out,
even though it' s obvious, is that this particular subject house is
reduced very substantially from the comparables on a square foot
basis.
MR. ROSSLER: Yes, yes it is, based to the market. . .
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MR. KIRBY: So even though they may appear some nicer, I
think there' s been a real sincere effort to adjust for
differences.
MR. CROSIER: One that I would add, when Mr. Austin did his
on-site appraisal and inspection, he mentioned having gotten into
the inside of the house that the floor plan is such that it' s very
unusual. It' s not very usable. There 's a lot of space that is
not usable in the typical sense space and I, of course, wouldn't
have any idea what the floor plans for the comparables are, but
Mr. Austin indicated that if he were residing in that house, the
first thing he would do would be to drastically remodel the--oh I
guess it would amount to approximately fifty percent of the upper
level--to make it a more attractive , usable and livable space.
It' s ranch style, but the Assessor has correctly identified it as
a single level house and brick , and that is true, it ' s ranch style
with window wells and that kind of thing. The upstairs is not
your typical upstairs . It' s got, and I 've never been very happy
with it frankly, but I also don' t have the kind of money necessary
in Mr. Austin 's opinion to change it around. I think that' s one
thing that does go into fair market value. It' s one thing to
observe a house from its exterior and observe its general style
and its location, but another very critical element in setting a
fair market value is how the interior layout and floor plan. . .
MR. KIRBY: Could you tell us what classifications were put
on.
MR. ROSSLER: The quality of the house that we have is as of
fair quality house. The condition is average for its age .
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MR. KIRBY: Okay. I think that is certain, would be correct
then from the picture.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Are there further questions for Mr. Crosier?
MR. KIRBY: Is Mr. Crosier familiar with those
classifications and how you arrive at that?
MR. CROSIER: What was the question?
MR. ROSSLER: Mr. Kirby asked the quality and condition of
the house. We classified as the house as a fair quality house, a
condition average for its age.
MR. KIRBY: I guess to make that understandable, he needs to
know the various choices, so. . .
MR. ROSSLER: We value our properties from the Marshall and
Swift residential manual. We have numerous classifications
starting with low quality or poor quality, fair, average, good,
very good. Your quality is a fair, which is below average. We
feel that is what the house represents.
MR. CROSIER: Okay. When determining quality, is that such
things as condition of the paint on the trim, the roof, that kind
of thing?
MR. ROSSLER: We basically look at the condition of the house
and the interior, granted it' s brick veneer, yes , but you know
that takes effect, yes , but not the color of the paint or anything
like that.
MR. CROSIER: Okay. Does it take into consideration, for
example, a floor plan.
MR. ROSSLER: Basically, yes it does. In the Marshall and
Swift manuals, it does demonstrate the pictures of the
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classification of older style houses and it shows and demonstrates
the quality that they should fall in.
MR. CROSIER: I didn't recall when you'd been in my house.
You haven' t, have you?
MR. ROSSLER: The last time we were there, I don' t have the
card.
MR. KIRBY: I think the point that needs to be made is that
it is not rated particularly highly for an area like that, Bill,
and that it is adjusted downward somewhat from most of those,
already, and toward the low end of the value for a house at that
age and in a reasonably good residential area.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Does the Board have any further questions for
Mr. Crosier? Any further comments?
MR. CROSIER: No, I think I would only re-emphasize that I
feel that a very highly qualified appraiser, who made an appraisal
not in contemplation of any hearing such as this , at a very
relevant time period and who did it so by an on-site, on-property,
in-house inspection is a more accurate and appropriate evaluation
than the use of comparables that are not really very near, and I
appreciate the gentleman's acknowledged in the beginning of his
statement that there were no near neighborhood comparables, that
they were further away, but I guess I would have to say that that
undoubtedly is making a difference in this case because how else
can the two rather widely disparate valuations be understood as
being consistent.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Again I would state to you, Mr. Crosier, that
the years that we 're talking about here as far as valuation years
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are concerned are ' 83-' 84 and the appraisal that you had done was
in ' 86 or ' 85 , late '85- '86 , so we have to look at that and
understand that those are the tax base years that we 're talking
about. Okay, and there is considerably. . .
MR. CROSIER: Correct me if I 'm wrong, Mr. Lacy, but as years
go by, typically doesn ' t real estate appreciate?
CHAIRMAN LACY: Does it not what?
MR. CROSIER: Go up in value.
CHAIRMAN LACY: No, not necessarily with the present market
that we've had in the last several years .
MR. CROSIER: I agree and acknowledge we 've had a pretty
level market for about, what seven or eight years now.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Not quite that long.
MR. MORRISON: Mr. Rossler, the initial evaluation was done,
not based on market value, but based on the manual. Is that
correct? How is the initial number determined?
MR. ROSSLER: Our initial from the office is based on cost
and then we take into consideration the condition, the age of the
structure and it is adjusted downward. The market analysis that
we have done. . .
MR. KEIRNES: . . . for this presentation. . .
MR. ROSSLER: . . .is what we can base ourselves on.
MR. MORRISON: So the market value is used as a confirmation
of your original cost valuation.
MR. CROSIER: I would only ask in that regard that, of the
comparables selected, how many comparables were available and I
would be curious about the selection process.
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MR. ROSSLER: The selection process, like I stated before,
was based on the neighborhood first, and your surrounding area
that we had of sales in ' 83 and ' 84 were the base years. Finding
none that sold in that time period, I had to go outside your area.
The next best step is to go by style, ranch-style, with brick
veneer, and the age, and as close as I can to square footage. I
believe my comparable at 1912 26th Avenue is as close I can in age
and in square footage.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think the important thing to note on
all of these is that the comparables went from a range of $46 .86
per square foot all the way up to $64 .44 per square foot. That' s
the range of those comparables. Your house is valued at $41 .30
per square foot and as I look at those properties , I think, and I
think that Bill made the point earlier, that that's a pretty fair
adjustment downward. You 're below the low on the range of
comparables on what your assessment is . So I think. . .
MR. CROSIER: I understand what you' re saying, if, and I
would say if with a capital "I" , that if these were truly
comparable and in the neighborhood, and I submit that they are not
close enough to be true comparables and that 's why I asked the
gentleman about the selection process of comparables. In other
words , are there one hundred similar houses in style and so forth
that are available for selection. These four selected which
happen to all have higher per square foot values. How many of the
pool of selectable comparables had lower square foot prices on
them? That ' s something that I can' t know, and with the
information presented to you, you can 't know either.
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MR. ROSSLER: I ' ll reiterate again. We're locked in the
'83-'84 sales . I cannot go out of the base year periods to
research. Granted there are homes that have sold in your area in
'80 , ' 81 , or '85 or '86 , but I am locked by State law to work with
the ' 83-'84 parameters. We have them calculated and broken down.
We have thousands of sales broken down by neighborhood and by
style and that ' s the best that I can do. That' s what I. . .
MR. CROSIER: I appreciate the year you 're working with . I 'm
not quarreling with that. I understand that. I am. . .
CHAIRMAN LACY: I, to move this on, because we have other
hearings, Mr. Crosier, do you have any further information for the
Board?
MR. CROSIER: No, I don' t.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Mr. Chairman, I think the evidence
supports the assessed value as presented by the Assessor and so I
would move for denial of this case.
COMMISSIONER YAMAGUCHI : I second that.
CHAIRMAN LACY: Motioned by Jackie, seconded by Frank, to
deny. Is there further discussion by the Board? All in favor of
the motion say aye? (Whereupon all Commissioners voted in favor
of the motion. ) Opposed? Same sign. Motion is carried. Mr.
Morrison.
MR. MORRISON: Mr. Crosier, you may appeal this decision by
lodging an appeal with the Board of Assessment Appeals or with the
District Court for Weld County within thirty days under 39-8-108
of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
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