Public Notices of the Treasurer & Public Trustee
Welcome to the website of the County Treasurer and Public Trustee of Dolores County. In Dolores County, the elected Treasurer is also the Public Trustee. The Treasurer duties include property tax collections, distributions, investments, tax lien sales and auctions, as well as other tax related tasks. A Public Trustee’s duty it is to serve the public as an unbiased administrator of two processes: Release of Deeds of Trust and Foreclosure on Deed of Trust.
Current Tax Collection
Property tax statements are mailed to the owner of record as soon as possible after January 1. All property tax is collected a year in arrears. It is the responsibility of each property owner to keep current addresses on file with the County Assessor. The Treasurer does not make address changes. Property owners that do not receive their tax statements in January should contact the Treasurer for a duplicate.
Method of payment includes personal check, cash, money orders, cashier’s checks and debit/credit, e-checks that are processed by accessing dolocnty.colorado.gov.
Property Tax Distribution
The Dolores County Treasurer collects property taxes on behalf of all local governments and special districts located with Dolores County. This includes School Districts, the Town of Dolores County, various Metro Districts, Water and Sanitation Districts, Fire Districts, Health Services and the Library. Collected property taxes are then apportioned and distributed by the Treasurer to the various taxing authorities.
The property taxes on any particular property are determined by the tax rates applicable to the Tax District where the property is located and by the assessed value of the individual property being taxed, as determined by the County Assessor.
Taylor Funk
409 N. Main St
PO Box 421
Dove Creek, CO 81324
970-677-2386
Fax: 970-677-2946
Payments: Dolores County General Payments - PayPort Online Service (colorado.gov)
Hours
Monday - Thursday
7:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Foreclosure Sales
Wednesday
10:00 a.m. at the County Treasurer's Office
Treasurer Deed Auctions
Wednesday
10:00 a.m. at the County Treasurer's Office
Tax Lien Sale
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
10:00 a.m. at The Dolores County Courthouse
Tax Lien Sale Information
Publication: The Journal and the Dolores County Government/Dolores County Treasurer official website.
County Tax Lien Sale: The County Tax Lien Sale will be held on November 6th, 2024, at 10:00 am at the Dolores County Court House.
The TAX LIEN SALE CERTIFICATE OF PURCHASE is ONLY A LIEN on the property and does not change ownership of the property. It is a negotiable document that is valid for 15 years. Interest is earned at the rate stated on the certificate with portions of calendar months considered as whole months. Premiums DO NOT earn interest.
Assignment: A Tax Lien Sale Certificate of Purchase can be assigned. If you wish to assign it to a different investor, you can do so by completing the Request for Tax Lien Sale Certificate Assignment. This can be obtained by contacting the Dolores County Treasurer. Please note that if the person you are assigning your certificate to is not already an investor with Dolores County, they will need to complete all required documents as if they were registering as a new bidder.
Subsequent Year's Taxes: After August 1st of each year, all tax lien sale certificate holders have first option to endorse the unpaid subsequent years taxes onto the certificate they hold earning the same rate of return.
Treasurer's Deed: The redemption period is three years from the original tax sale. This process is handled through the Treasurer's Office. The certificate holder must pay the expenses of issuing the deed which includes publication costs, title search costs, recording fees as well as other expenses.
Please note that the Treasurer’s deed process has been updated effective July 1st, 2024, due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2023. For more information regarding the current treasurer deed process please review the Treasurer/Public Trustee Public Notices for an informational video or slideshow.
General Tax Lien Sale Information FAQs
What, When, Who and Why a Tax Sale?
Each year unpaid taxes on Real Estate, Oil, Gas & Other Minerals, Mining Claims and Special Assessments are sold to investors. Investing in tax liens through the purchase at the tax lien sale is just that, AN INVESTMENT. You purchase the tax lien, NOT THE PROPERTY. Very few deed transfers occur because of a tax lien sale.
Tax sales are established by state statute and held to enable various authorities and county government to continue to operate through collection of unpaid taxes.
The tax sale date is subject to state statute and is held after the delinquent tax list is published in a local paper for three weeks.
Any person who has monies to invest and is not an employee of the county or an immediate relative of a county employee can register to purchase. Monies can be tied up for an indefinite period.
Interest rates are set each year by the Colorado Banking Commission. The annual percentage rate is set at nine points above the federal discount rate for September 1 of that year.
ELEMENT OF RISK: IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE ELEMENT OF RISK INVOLVED IN THE PURCHASE OF TAX LIENS. THE PURCHASE OF TAX SALE LIENS OF PROPERTIES UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC) AND RESULOUTION TRUST CORPORATION (RTC) AND THOSE AFFECTED BY THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTATION (DEA) COULD POSSIBLY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF INTEREST. IDENTIFYING ANY POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN THIS AREA IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE TREASURER'S OFFICE. PLEASE CONDUCT YOUR OWN INVESTIGATION TO REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF LOSS OF INTEREST TO YOU. PARCELS ARE SUBJECT TO FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.
Releases of Deed of Trust
Full or partial releases of a Deed of Trust can be submitted. There are two different forms for this release: 1) With Production of Evidence of Debt and 2) Without Production of Evidence of Debt. It is imperative that only qualified holders use the form Without Production.
Foreclosure
When a Grantor is in violation of the Deed of trust it is the Public Trustees job to hold a sale open to the public to collect proceeds to repay a beneficiary’s debt.
*NOTICE TO AN OWNER IN FORECLOSURE: If your property goes to foreclosure auction sale and is purchased for more than the total owned to the lender and all other lien holders, please contact the public trustee’s office after the sale because you may have funds due to you.
Foreclosure laws may change because of legislation adopted each year by the Colorado Legislature.
The information here is intended as a tool. It is not intended to serve as legal advice. To learn more about the laws regarding the foreclosure process, refer to Title 38 of the Colorado Revised Statues or consult with your own legal counsel.