Mount Massive Lakes Members:
The below information may be useful but should by no means be deemed as legal advice or a guarantee of successful appeals. This is a compilation of data points from conversations with other members, the assessors office, and is by no means official on behalf of the Board of Directors or staff. The information below is just that, informational and points for consideration.
Every member is responsible for their own appeals as they are your personal domiciles that are being taxed and not the responsibility of the Board of Directors or the staff.
For all personal appeals you may submit such by mail, email or in person at the assessors office or with Miguel Martinez, he is located in the building on Harrison street located next to the ice cream shop and must be done by no later than June 8th.
If you are inclined to appeal your current property valuation please see below for some points you may use in your own personal appeal if you choose to:
All comparable data per the assessors office can be found on the lake county website at: https://www.lakecountyco.com/assessor/pages/20232024-sales if you choose to use this data, you must use the sale price and then minus out the land value and then divide that by square footage of the property to obtain the price per square footage.
Per the assessors office they recommended to also look at the sales on our club as true comparable sales. This information is accessible through property record searches on the assessor site or by looking at the GIS map of our area and property record data associated. If you are in need of this spreadsheet one of the board members will be able to provide this to you, as we were provided this information from the assessors office.
You will want to look at your comparable homes by starting with amount of equitable floors, sq footage, quality of build, condition of cabin, age and ensure you are looking at what their price per sq footage is, which is derived by subtracting out the land costs for county comps. To ensure you are utilizing the correct age you will want to use effective date built, as the assessors office recognizes any remodeling as the effective date.
Points that may be useful for your appeal but again are in no means deemed as a guarantee of success or legal advice nor on behalf of the BOD or staff:
—Point 1) Mount Massive Lakes, inc trout club is a unique property ownership model which has very different characteristic elements than the typical, open market real estate arrangements in which we are being compared to.
1) a) A cabin cannot be valued using the same methodology as a similar sized house on the open market. When looking at arms reach median price, age, quality, condition and extra features associated ie. garage, shed etc. there are aspects within the trout club that make this vastly different than the rest of lake county market sales.
—Point 2) When stating somewhat comparable properties a few keys points that should be understood:
1)We own the cabin/home in question, however, we do not own the land on which it resides. Rather the land is owned by the 501c7 Mount Massive Lakes Inc.
2)We are not allowed to rent this property to the general public due to the 501c7 guidelines and restriction set forth in our bylaws.
3)Financing in majority of cases is not feasible as there are specific stipulations that must be signed by a lender. Thus putting a liability on the lender to understand they cannot ever be the owner of the property they are lending for, rather must take on the responsibility to find a new owner and pay dues until such time if the buyer defaults. Current state only one bank in the state of Colorado has been willing to take on this liability and risk.
4)Membership must be approved by the board of directors after the completion of an interview, where it is determined if the prospective member meets the requirements of the Board and agrees to the terms of the clubs bylaws. A membership does not grant a member ownership of the land rather the ability to construct a property on the land per approved upon land use rules. This cabin may also not be transferred amongst individuals without going through an interview process and a club membership purchase which is a private transaction between the retiring member and the new member. This drastically limits the pool of buyers, and interested parties.
5)All members of Mount Massive Lakes Inc, pay annual dues associated with the operation of the club and ensuring management is appropriately compensated. At no point in time is this club operated as a HOA or public unit development, which is unique to our operating standards.
6)Membership costs are fluctuating and in many circumstances are valued at an equitable or higher cost than that of a cabin sale. (These membership costs are typically private transactions between the retiring member and the new member.) Which in some sales were potentially recorded with the assessors office in final bills of sale. Which in turn should be deducted from valuation price in some format.
—Point 3) Homes on the club are “in its current use, under the principles of highest and best use.” To determine if a properties utilization is in its Highest and Best Use the four principles referenced as I am sure your office is aware are: 1) Physically Feasible; 2) Legally Permissible; 3) Economically Feasible; 4) Maximally Productive. The subject of membership of a 501c7 fishing club and cabin go on to prove that this home is in its current use in its Highest and Best Use, as this property cannot be rented out and utilized by any person other than the member and members family abiding by stipulations within the bylaws.
—Point 4) Due to the unique nature of homes/cabins located at Mount Massive Lakes since its origin in 1934 homes on this property should be valued individually and not through a mass extrapolation of data completed during the review period. There are a limited number of sales that are directly associated within the club and should be considered when completing the process of assessing the most frequent valuations. Open market sales should not be the only criteria utilized with assessing these homes due to the unique nature in which the purchase, interview and membership process is handled.
Lastly ensure accurate classification if your home is a cabin or a home which must be done through the assessors office or with Miguel Martinez.
Validate square footage is accurately recorded.
Consider the age, quality of build, and condition and validate what the county has.
If you are inclined, utilize pictures to plead your case
If you purchased during the valuation period of July 1st, 2020-June 30th 2022 you should be able to protest back to your purchase price.
For reference per the county assessor page:
2023 VALUATION QUICK STATS:
Leadville land went from $500,000 to $850,000/acre, 70% increase
Industrial Mining went from $468 to $937/acre, 100% increase
Overall, Vacant Land went up 87.92%
1 story- $183 to $214/square foot, 16.9%
1.5 story- $156 to $165/square foot, 5.8%%
2 story- $153 to $148/square foot, -3.3%
Modular 1 story- $183 to $155/square foot, -15.3%
Modular 1.5 Story- $156 to $170/square foot, 8.2%
Modular 2 Story- $153 to $200/square foot, 30.7%
Overall, Residential went up 66.11%
Please do not hesitate to submit your appeal to the county if you choose to do so, every appeal is at the discretion of the owner and if you believe that there is a misappropriation of value applied to your Mount Massive Lakes property you have the right to appeal.
An appeal determination should be finalized by the end of June, if you are not satisfied with the outcome you have the right to take your appeal to the board of equalization, and if necessary to the state board of equalization but again, this is the property owners responsibility and not handled by the BOD or staff.
The above is for informational purposes only, and if you are inclined to protest your current valuation, you have the right to plead your case in the manner you find to be the most appropriate for your current situation, and by no means is this the only information that may be necessary. Please consider your own situation and if it is appropriate to appeal, information above is provided solely as points of consideration.
The below information may be useful but should by no means be deemed as legal advice or a guarantee of successful appeals. This is a compilation of data points from conversations with other members, the assessors office, and is by no means official on behalf of the Board of Directors or staff. The information below is just that, informational and points for consideration.
Every member is responsible for their own appeals as they are your personal domiciles that are being taxed and not the responsibility of the Board of Directors or the staff.
For all personal appeals you may submit such by mail, email or in person at the assessors office or with Miguel Martinez, he is located in the building on Harrison street located next to the ice cream shop and must be done by no later than June 8th.
If you are inclined to appeal your current property valuation please see below for some points you may use in your own personal appeal if you choose to:
All comparable data per the assessors office can be found on the lake county website at: https://www.lakecountyco.com/assessor/pages/20232024-sales if you choose to use this data, you must use the sale price and then minus out the land value and then divide that by square footage of the property to obtain the price per square footage.
Per the assessors office they recommended to also look at the sales on our club as true comparable sales. This information is accessible through property record searches on the assessor site or by looking at the GIS map of our area and property record data associated. If you are in need of this spreadsheet one of the board members will be able to provide this to you, as we were provided this information from the assessors office.
You will want to look at your comparable homes by starting with amount of equitable floors, sq footage, quality of build, condition of cabin, age and ensure you are looking at what their price per sq footage is, which is derived by subtracting out the land costs for county comps. To ensure you are utilizing the correct age you will want to use effective date built, as the assessors office recognizes any remodeling as the effective date.
Points that may be useful for your appeal but again are in no means deemed as a guarantee of success or legal advice nor on behalf of the BOD or staff:
—Point 1) Mount Massive Lakes, inc trout club is a unique property ownership model which has very different characteristic elements than the typical, open market real estate arrangements in which we are being compared to.
1) a) A cabin cannot be valued using the same methodology as a similar sized house on the open market. When looking at arms reach median price, age, quality, condition and extra features associated ie. garage, shed etc. there are aspects within the trout club that make this vastly different than the rest of lake county market sales.
—Point 2) When stating somewhat comparable properties a few keys points that should be understood:
1)We own the cabin/home in question, however, we do not own the land on which it resides. Rather the land is owned by the 501c7 Mount Massive Lakes Inc.
2)We are not allowed to rent this property to the general public due to the 501c7 guidelines and restriction set forth in our bylaws.
3)Financing in majority of cases is not feasible as there are specific stipulations that must be signed by a lender. Thus putting a liability on the lender to understand they cannot ever be the owner of the property they are lending for, rather must take on the responsibility to find a new owner and pay dues until such time if the buyer defaults. Current state only one bank in the state of Colorado has been willing to take on this liability and risk.
4)Membership must be approved by the board of directors after the completion of an interview, where it is determined if the prospective member meets the requirements of the Board and agrees to the terms of the clubs bylaws. A membership does not grant a member ownership of the land rather the ability to construct a property on the land per approved upon land use rules. This cabin may also not be transferred amongst individuals without going through an interview process and a club membership purchase which is a private transaction between the retiring member and the new member. This drastically limits the pool of buyers, and interested parties.
5)All members of Mount Massive Lakes Inc, pay annual dues associated with the operation of the club and ensuring management is appropriately compensated. At no point in time is this club operated as a HOA or public unit development, which is unique to our operating standards.
6)Membership costs are fluctuating and in many circumstances are valued at an equitable or higher cost than that of a cabin sale. (These membership costs are typically private transactions between the retiring member and the new member.) Which in some sales were potentially recorded with the assessors office in final bills of sale. Which in turn should be deducted from valuation price in some format.
—Point 3) Homes on the club are “in its current use, under the principles of highest and best use.” To determine if a properties utilization is in its Highest and Best Use the four principles referenced as I am sure your office is aware are: 1) Physically Feasible; 2) Legally Permissible; 3) Economically Feasible; 4) Maximally Productive. The subject of membership of a 501c7 fishing club and cabin go on to prove that this home is in its current use in its Highest and Best Use, as this property cannot be rented out and utilized by any person other than the member and members family abiding by stipulations within the bylaws.
—Point 4) Due to the unique nature of homes/cabins located at Mount Massive Lakes since its origin in 1934 homes on this property should be valued individually and not through a mass extrapolation of data completed during the review period. There are a limited number of sales that are directly associated within the club and should be considered when completing the process of assessing the most frequent valuations. Open market sales should not be the only criteria utilized with assessing these homes due to the unique nature in which the purchase, interview and membership process is handled.
Lastly ensure accurate classification if your home is a cabin or a home which must be done through the assessors office or with Miguel Martinez.
Validate square footage is accurately recorded.
Consider the age, quality of build, and condition and validate what the county has.
If you are inclined, utilize pictures to plead your case
If you purchased during the valuation period of July 1st, 2020-June 30th 2022 you should be able to protest back to your purchase price.
For reference per the county assessor page:
2023 VALUATION QUICK STATS:
Leadville land went from $500,000 to $850,000/acre, 70% increase
Industrial Mining went from $468 to $937/acre, 100% increase
Overall, Vacant Land went up 87.92%
1 story- $183 to $214/square foot, 16.9%
1.5 story- $156 to $165/square foot, 5.8%%
2 story- $153 to $148/square foot, -3.3%
Modular 1 story- $183 to $155/square foot, -15.3%
Modular 1.5 Story- $156 to $170/square foot, 8.2%
Modular 2 Story- $153 to $200/square foot, 30.7%
Overall, Residential went up 66.11%
Please do not hesitate to submit your appeal to the county if you choose to do so, every appeal is at the discretion of the owner and if you believe that there is a misappropriation of value applied to your Mount Massive Lakes property you have the right to appeal.
An appeal determination should be finalized by the end of June, if you are not satisfied with the outcome you have the right to take your appeal to the board of equalization, and if necessary to the state board of equalization but again, this is the property owners responsibility and not handled by the BOD or staff.
The above is for informational purposes only, and if you are inclined to protest your current valuation, you have the right to plead your case in the manner you find to be the most appropriate for your current situation, and by no means is this the only information that may be necessary. Please consider your own situation and if it is appropriate to appeal, information above is provided solely as points of consideration.
