Click Here for Treehouse Photo Gallery
Constructed by Bill Compher in 1981-82, the 50' high Cedar Creek Treehouse combines spectacular natural surroundings with architectural magic.
The five story stairwell ( built 1993-97) provides easy access to the treehouse, which has been featured in the international media as one of the world's top five treehouse hotels.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Get the House Ready to Sell
A house that "sparkles" on the surface will sell faster than its shabby neighbor, even though both are structurally well-maintained.
From experience, REALTORS® also know that a "well-polished" house appeals to more buyers and will sell faster and for a higher price. Additionally, buyers feel more comfortable purchasing a well-cared for home because if what they can see is maintained, what they can't see has probably also been maintained. In readying your house for sale, consider:
how much should you spend
exterior and curb appeal
preparing the interior
How much should you spend
In preparing your home for the market, spend as little money as possible. Buyers will be impressed by a brand new roof, but they aren't likely to give you enough extra money to pay for it. There is a big difference between making minor and inexpensive "polishes" and "touch-ups" to your house, such as putting new knobs on cabinets and a fresh coat of neutral paint in the living room, and doing extensive and costly renovations, like installing a new kitchen. Your REALTOR®, who is familiar with buyers' expectations in your neighborhood, can advise you specifically on what improvements need to be made. Don't hesitate to ask for advice.
Maximizing exterior and curb appeal
Before putting your house on the market, take as much time as necessary (and as little money as possible) to maximize its exterior and interior appeal. Tips to enhance your home’s exterior and curb appeal:
Keep the lawn edged, cut and watered regularly.
Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees regularly.
Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling.
Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint.
Clean and align gutters.
Inspect and clean the chimney.
Repair and replace loose or damaged roof shingles.
Repair and repaint loose siding and caulking.
In Northern winters, keep walks neatly cleared of snow and ice.
During spring and summer months consider adding a few showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near your front entrance.
Re-seal an asphalt driveway.
Keep your garage door closed.
Store RVs or old and beaten up cars elsewhere while the house is on the market.
Apply a fresh coat of paint to the front door.
Maximizing interior appeal
Enhance your home’s interior by:
Giving every room in the house a thorough cleaning, as well as removing all clutter. This alone will make your house appear bigger and brighter. Some homeowners with crowded rooms have actually rented storage garages and moved half their furniture out, creating a sleeker, more spacious look.
Hiring a professional cleaning service, once every few weeks while the house is on the market. This may be a good investment for owners who are busy elsewhere.
Removing the less frequently used, even daily used items from kitchen counters, closets, and attics, making these areas much more inviting. Since you're anticipating a move anyhow, holding a garage sale at this point is a great idea.
If necessary, repainting dingy, soiled or strongly colored walls with a neutral shade of paint, such as off-white or beige. The same neutral scheme can be applied to carpets and linoleum.
Checking for cracks, leaks and signs of dampness in the attic and basement.
Repairing cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint, and tiles.
Replacing broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork. Inspecting and repairing the plumbing, heating , cooling, and alarm systems.
Repairing dripping faucets and showerheads. Buying showy new towels for the bathroom, to be brought out only when prospective buyers are on the way.
Sprucing up a kitchen in need of more major remodeling by investing in new cabinet knobs, new curtains, or a coat of neutral paint.
From experience, REALTORS® also know that a "well-polished" house appeals to more buyers and will sell faster and for a higher price. Additionally, buyers feel more comfortable purchasing a well-cared for home because if what they can see is maintained, what they can't see has probably also been maintained. In readying your house for sale, consider:
how much should you spend
exterior and curb appeal
preparing the interior
How much should you spend
In preparing your home for the market, spend as little money as possible. Buyers will be impressed by a brand new roof, but they aren't likely to give you enough extra money to pay for it. There is a big difference between making minor and inexpensive "polishes" and "touch-ups" to your house, such as putting new knobs on cabinets and a fresh coat of neutral paint in the living room, and doing extensive and costly renovations, like installing a new kitchen. Your REALTOR®, who is familiar with buyers' expectations in your neighborhood, can advise you specifically on what improvements need to be made. Don't hesitate to ask for advice.
Maximizing exterior and curb appeal
Before putting your house on the market, take as much time as necessary (and as little money as possible) to maximize its exterior and interior appeal. Tips to enhance your home’s exterior and curb appeal:
Keep the lawn edged, cut and watered regularly.
Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees regularly.
Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling.
Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint.
Clean and align gutters.
Inspect and clean the chimney.
Repair and replace loose or damaged roof shingles.
Repair and repaint loose siding and caulking.
In Northern winters, keep walks neatly cleared of snow and ice.
During spring and summer months consider adding a few showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near your front entrance.
Re-seal an asphalt driveway.
Keep your garage door closed.
Store RVs or old and beaten up cars elsewhere while the house is on the market.
Apply a fresh coat of paint to the front door.
Maximizing interior appeal
Enhance your home’s interior by:
Giving every room in the house a thorough cleaning, as well as removing all clutter. This alone will make your house appear bigger and brighter. Some homeowners with crowded rooms have actually rented storage garages and moved half their furniture out, creating a sleeker, more spacious look.
Hiring a professional cleaning service, once every few weeks while the house is on the market. This may be a good investment for owners who are busy elsewhere.
Removing the less frequently used, even daily used items from kitchen counters, closets, and attics, making these areas much more inviting. Since you're anticipating a move anyhow, holding a garage sale at this point is a great idea.
If necessary, repainting dingy, soiled or strongly colored walls with a neutral shade of paint, such as off-white or beige. The same neutral scheme can be applied to carpets and linoleum.
Checking for cracks, leaks and signs of dampness in the attic and basement.
Repairing cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint, and tiles.
Replacing broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork. Inspecting and repairing the plumbing, heating , cooling, and alarm systems.
Repairing dripping faucets and showerheads. Buying showy new towels for the bathroom, to be brought out only when prospective buyers are on the way.
Sprucing up a kitchen in need of more major remodeling by investing in new cabinet knobs, new curtains, or a coat of neutral paint.
Weatherizing Your Home: Get ready for spring!
Spring will be here again before you know it, and you’ll need to get your house ready for warmer temperatures, melting snow and lots of rain! After a season of cold, snow and being closed off from the elements, everything in a house can be affected from the air quality to the windows and roof. Go through your house now and see what needs fixing and maintenance before the warm weather gets here.
Exterior Spring Preparations
One of the first things you can do to prepare for spring rain and melting winter snow is cleaning out the gutters and downspouts. If they are clean then the water can pass through them properly and away from your home. Clogged gutters can cause water to fall off close to your house and into the soil surrounding your foundation. This water can end up flooding your basement. A downspout is only as good as its distance from your house. Getting a downspout extension can flow the draining water away from your foundation.
Making sure to waterproof your basement can also avoid a costly and troublesome mess. If the weather gets warm and snow melts too quickly it may result in flooding, which can end with water seeping through the loose soil around your foundation and straight into your basement.
You should also check over your deck once winter starts to fade. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that winter can cause decks and railings to crack or split and should be replaced in the spring with new wood. You can also apply a wood protecting finish to the wood to prepare it for rain.
Warm weather may bring grass and flowers, but it also brings out insects and rodents. Bugs, mice and other pests can infiltrate your home and take advantage of newly opened windows or cracked, split wood. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds that termites also swarm in the spring, and if you see a series of black flying ants you should contact a licensed pest control company immediately.
Interior Spring Preparations
Nothing says spring like a vigorous cleaning! Spring cleaning has become a tradition of its own allowing people to clean away the layers of dust and dirt left from a winter of being closed off. Throwing open the windows and allowing fresh air into the house will not only feel better but help clear out allergens and dust.
Keeping on the topic of indoor air quality, changing the filters in your air conditioner is a must. Also, have a certified and licensed air conditioning technician inspect your system before you start using it. Finding a problem early means it can be fixed early so you’re not stuck in a heat wave waiting for the technician to have a free moment to swing by.
Exterior Spring Preparations
One of the first things you can do to prepare for spring rain and melting winter snow is cleaning out the gutters and downspouts. If they are clean then the water can pass through them properly and away from your home. Clogged gutters can cause water to fall off close to your house and into the soil surrounding your foundation. This water can end up flooding your basement. A downspout is only as good as its distance from your house. Getting a downspout extension can flow the draining water away from your foundation.
Making sure to waterproof your basement can also avoid a costly and troublesome mess. If the weather gets warm and snow melts too quickly it may result in flooding, which can end with water seeping through the loose soil around your foundation and straight into your basement.
You should also check over your deck once winter starts to fade. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that winter can cause decks and railings to crack or split and should be replaced in the spring with new wood. You can also apply a wood protecting finish to the wood to prepare it for rain.
Warm weather may bring grass and flowers, but it also brings out insects and rodents. Bugs, mice and other pests can infiltrate your home and take advantage of newly opened windows or cracked, split wood. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds that termites also swarm in the spring, and if you see a series of black flying ants you should contact a licensed pest control company immediately.
Interior Spring Preparations
Nothing says spring like a vigorous cleaning! Spring cleaning has become a tradition of its own allowing people to clean away the layers of dust and dirt left from a winter of being closed off. Throwing open the windows and allowing fresh air into the house will not only feel better but help clear out allergens and dust.
Keeping on the topic of indoor air quality, changing the filters in your air conditioner is a must. Also, have a certified and licensed air conditioning technician inspect your system before you start using it. Finding a problem early means it can be fixed early so you’re not stuck in a heat wave waiting for the technician to have a free moment to swing by.
More people signed contracts to buy homes in Feb.
By DEREK KRAVITZ AP Real Estate Writer
WASHINGTON—More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but sales were uneven across the country and not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market.
Sales agreements for homes rose 2.1 percent last month to a reading of 90.8, according to the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index released Monday. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast.
Signings were 19.6 percent above June's index reading, the low point since the housing bust. Still, the index is below 100, which is considered a healthy level. The last time it reached that point was in April, the final month people could qualify for a home-buying tax credit.
Contract signings are usually a good indicator of where the housing market is heading. That's because there's usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.
But the Realtors group also noted "a measurable level of contract cancellations" that also occurred in February. Many buyers canceled after appraisals showed the properties were valued much lower than their initial bids.
A sale is not final until a mortgage is closed.
"Therefore, the latest pickup in pending home sales and mortgage applications might not necessarily end up in a measurable pickup in mortgage closings and translate into an increase in existing home sales," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an analyst at BNP Paribas.
The pace of sales varied from region to region. Signings fell 10.9 percent in the Northeast. They rose 2.7 percent in the South, 4 percent in Midwest and 7 percent in the West.
High unemployment, strict lending standards, and a record number of foreclosures are deterring would-be buyers, who fear home prices haven't reached the bottom.
Sales of previously owned homes fell last year to the lowest level in 13 years. Economists say it will be years before the housing market fully recovers. The rise in foreclosures has pushed the median price of previously occupied homes to its lowest point in nearly 9 years.
New-home sales have fared even worse. Americans are on track to buy fewer new homes than in any year since the government began keeping data almost a half-century ago. Sales are now just half the pace of 1963—even though there are 120 million more people in the United States now.
WASHINGTON—More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but sales were uneven across the country and not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market.
Sales agreements for homes rose 2.1 percent last month to a reading of 90.8, according to the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index released Monday. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast.
Signings were 19.6 percent above June's index reading, the low point since the housing bust. Still, the index is below 100, which is considered a healthy level. The last time it reached that point was in April, the final month people could qualify for a home-buying tax credit.
Contract signings are usually a good indicator of where the housing market is heading. That's because there's usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.
But the Realtors group also noted "a measurable level of contract cancellations" that also occurred in February. Many buyers canceled after appraisals showed the properties were valued much lower than their initial bids.
A sale is not final until a mortgage is closed.
"Therefore, the latest pickup in pending home sales and mortgage applications might not necessarily end up in a measurable pickup in mortgage closings and translate into an increase in existing home sales," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an analyst at BNP Paribas.
The pace of sales varied from region to region. Signings fell 10.9 percent in the Northeast. They rose 2.7 percent in the South, 4 percent in Midwest and 7 percent in the West.
High unemployment, strict lending standards, and a record number of foreclosures are deterring would-be buyers, who fear home prices haven't reached the bottom.
Sales of previously owned homes fell last year to the lowest level in 13 years. Economists say it will be years before the housing market fully recovers. The rise in foreclosures has pushed the median price of previously occupied homes to its lowest point in nearly 9 years.
New-home sales have fared even worse. Americans are on track to buy fewer new homes than in any year since the government began keeping data almost a half-century ago. Sales are now just half the pace of 1963—even though there are 120 million more people in the United States now.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Opus sells remaining units in City Park tower
By Margaret Jackson
The Denver Post
Opus Northwest has sold the remaining 72 condos at the Pinnacle at City Park South for more than $20 million, bringing it one step closer to pulling out of the Denver market.
Condo Capital Solutions, the Louisville-based real estate investment and turnaround company that bought the units, will sell them at prices well below what they were offered for when the project was completed in 2007.
"Buyers are going to get a good deal," said Marcel Arsenault, principal of CCS. "They'll probably clear out fairly fast. When people get a good deal, they generally line up and take advantage of it."
The Denver Post
Opus Northwest has sold the remaining 72 condos at the Pinnacle at City Park South for more than $20 million, bringing it one step closer to pulling out of the Denver market.
Condo Capital Solutions, the Louisville-based real estate investment and turnaround company that bought the units, will sell them at prices well below what they were offered for when the project was completed in 2007.
"Buyers are going to get a good deal," said Marcel Arsenault, principal of CCS. "They'll probably clear out fairly fast. When people get a good deal, they generally line up and take advantage of it."
House votes to end emergency mortgage aid
By ALAN FRAM Associated Press
WASHINGTON—The House voted Friday to kill mortgage assistance for homeowners who have lost their jobs or become ill, as the two parties battled over how to balance frugality and compassion at a time of enormous budget deficits.
The mostly party-line 242-177 vote by the Republican-run House to abolish the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program may be as far as the legislation gets. The White House has threatened to veto the measure, and its prospects are shaky in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Even so, the fight over the bill—and three others like it that the GOP is trying to push through Congress—is giving each party an opportunity to highlight its political priorities. Though more eyes are focused on the spending and budget battle, the lower-profile fight over housing aid is letting Republicans stress their focus on smaller government and private job creation, while Democrats underscore the federal role of helping struggling homeowners at a time of high joblessness and an ailing housing market.
On Friday, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked what he could tell constituents when he encounters them at church about why Congress was trying to kill housing assistance.
"I'm tired of seeing my fellow citizens coming in, your neighbors and my neighbors, they may look like your mother and my mother, they may look like your son and my son, tears running down their faces, simply wanting a break," said Cummings, whose district has his state's highest percentage of black residents.
"When I go to church on Sunday, I'm going to be very glad in my heart, in my head, that I didn't commit an act of fiscal child abuse on my children or anybody else's children or grandchildren" by letting the national debt get even bigger, said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.
The $1 billion emergency program was created by last year's financial overhaul law. It is designed to help up to 30,000 families by offering short-term, forgivable federal loans, but no loans have been made yet.
Freshman Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said that Democrats "want you to believe that we don't have a heart" but said Republicans have a different motivation.
"Americans understand we can't continue to live in this irresponsible way, giving away borrowed money, program after program, knowing that it's going down a rat hole," he said.
"The American citizens are not rats," countered Rep. Maxine Waters, and money the government is spending "through good public policy is not money that is going down a rat hole."
The House approved a similar GOP bill on Thursday abolishing a program arranging refinancing for people whose homes are worth less than they originally paid for them. It too faces a White House veto threat.
Next week the House plans to debate two other measures killing a pair of federal programs.
One is President Barack Obama's flagship program for preventing foreclosures. The other is an initiative that gives money to state and local governments to buy and revamp abandoned properties.
WASHINGTON—The House voted Friday to kill mortgage assistance for homeowners who have lost their jobs or become ill, as the two parties battled over how to balance frugality and compassion at a time of enormous budget deficits.
The mostly party-line 242-177 vote by the Republican-run House to abolish the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program may be as far as the legislation gets. The White House has threatened to veto the measure, and its prospects are shaky in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Even so, the fight over the bill—and three others like it that the GOP is trying to push through Congress—is giving each party an opportunity to highlight its political priorities. Though more eyes are focused on the spending and budget battle, the lower-profile fight over housing aid is letting Republicans stress their focus on smaller government and private job creation, while Democrats underscore the federal role of helping struggling homeowners at a time of high joblessness and an ailing housing market.
On Friday, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked what he could tell constituents when he encounters them at church about why Congress was trying to kill housing assistance.
"I'm tired of seeing my fellow citizens coming in, your neighbors and my neighbors, they may look like your mother and my mother, they may look like your son and my son, tears running down their faces, simply wanting a break," said Cummings, whose district has his state's highest percentage of black residents.
"When I go to church on Sunday, I'm going to be very glad in my heart, in my head, that I didn't commit an act of fiscal child abuse on my children or anybody else's children or grandchildren" by letting the national debt get even bigger, said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.
The $1 billion emergency program was created by last year's financial overhaul law. It is designed to help up to 30,000 families by offering short-term, forgivable federal loans, but no loans have been made yet.
Freshman Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said that Democrats "want you to believe that we don't have a heart" but said Republicans have a different motivation.
"Americans understand we can't continue to live in this irresponsible way, giving away borrowed money, program after program, knowing that it's going down a rat hole," he said.
"The American citizens are not rats," countered Rep. Maxine Waters, and money the government is spending "through good public policy is not money that is going down a rat hole."
The House approved a similar GOP bill on Thursday abolishing a program arranging refinancing for people whose homes are worth less than they originally paid for them. It too faces a White House veto threat.
Next week the House plans to debate two other measures killing a pair of federal programs.
One is President Barack Obama's flagship program for preventing foreclosures. The other is an initiative that gives money to state and local governments to buy and revamp abandoned properties.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
U.S. banks face more loan write-downs
By The Wall Street Journal
Posted: 03/04/2011 08:43:37 AM MST
Updated: 03/04/2011 08:43:37 AM MST
U.S. banks received a 27-page proposal late Thursday from state attorneys general and several federal agencies that could require them to reduce loan balances of troubled mortgage borrowers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The document, sent to the nation's largest mortgage servicers, doesn't specify penalties or fines but instead represents a detailed code of conduct for how they must treat borrowers throughout the loan-modification process.
Banks have yet to receive a separate settlement proposal to pay for damages prompted by the foreclosure-document handling crisis that began last fall.
Thursday's document focuses instead on improving the way that banks treat borrowers who are seeking modifications or are going through foreclosure.
The proposal represents the clearest indication that the 50 state attorneys general are working hand-in-hand with the Obama administration and other regulators to pursue a significantly broader settlement against the banks than any of the federal agencies might be able to win by themselves.
Some state attorneys general and federal agencies are pushing for banks to pay more than $20 billion in civil fines or to fund a comparable amount of loan modifications for distressed borrowers.
The document sent to the banks came from the state officials, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The proposal outlines formulas that would force banks to consider offering loan write-downs to troubled borrowers more regularly during the modification process.
Banks have resisted reducing loan balances in part because of concerns that it could encourage more borrowers to stop making payments in order to receive smaller loan.
Get more at WallStreetJournal.com.
Posted: 03/04/2011 08:43:37 AM MST
Updated: 03/04/2011 08:43:37 AM MST
U.S. banks received a 27-page proposal late Thursday from state attorneys general and several federal agencies that could require them to reduce loan balances of troubled mortgage borrowers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The document, sent to the nation's largest mortgage servicers, doesn't specify penalties or fines but instead represents a detailed code of conduct for how they must treat borrowers throughout the loan-modification process.
Banks have yet to receive a separate settlement proposal to pay for damages prompted by the foreclosure-document handling crisis that began last fall.
Thursday's document focuses instead on improving the way that banks treat borrowers who are seeking modifications or are going through foreclosure.
The proposal represents the clearest indication that the 50 state attorneys general are working hand-in-hand with the Obama administration and other regulators to pursue a significantly broader settlement against the banks than any of the federal agencies might be able to win by themselves.
Some state attorneys general and federal agencies are pushing for banks to pay more than $20 billion in civil fines or to fund a comparable amount of loan modifications for distressed borrowers.
The document sent to the banks came from the state officials, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The proposal outlines formulas that would force banks to consider offering loan write-downs to troubled borrowers more regularly during the modification process.
Banks have resisted reducing loan balances in part because of concerns that it could encourage more borrowers to stop making payments in order to receive smaller loan.
Get more at WallStreetJournal.com.
Adams County assessor proposes big increases to taxable land values on properties in Post report
By David Olinger
The Denver Post
The Adams County assessor is proposing dramatic increases in the taxable values of some lands spotlighted by recent stories in The Denver Post.
The revised values affect 24 properties owned by developers and the family of a county commissioner. In some cases, assessed values for 2011 are about 200 times as much as the assessed values of the same land last year.
The changes were visible on the assessor's website this week but were abruptly pulled after The Denver Post inquired about them Wednesday. The assessor's office also removed at least 19,000 other proposed land-value changes for 2011, saying it did not want landowners to find them on the Internet before they get notified by mail in May.
John Schaul, the deputy assessor, said he feared an onslaught of early appeals if property owners discovered new values electronically, and that in some cases, the posted values were still subject to review.
"That's the reality of it. They've not been finalized," he said.
The county assessor, Gil Reyes, is ill and not expected to return to work this month.
Before the county pulled down the new assessments, the website showed assessors had decided to raise the value of about 50 acres owned by developer Robert Lembke in northeast Brighton from $4,612 to $727,150.
The actual value of a 1 1/2-acre parcel owned by Gayeski Capital Associates rose to $20,000 from $8.
And the taxable value of 3 acres owned by Commissioner Alice Nichol's family went from $33,750 to $337,543.
The vacant Nichol land, owned by a trust in her late mother's name, changed from residential to industrial. Twenty Lembke parcels changed from agricultural to commercial. Three Gayeski parcels changed from agricultural to residential.
Lembke and Gayeski have been paying $2 to $3 an acre in property taxes on those lands.
Adams County, like other Colorado counties, is conducting its biennial reassessment of properties countywide. On May 1, it will send notices of new values to nearly 200,000 property owners.
Schaul said the taxable values of the properties The Post inquired about will return to the amounts posted earlier this week, although at least one Lembke parcel was incorrectly changed from agricultural to commercial land.
In November, The Post reported that the Adams County assessor had slashed millions of dollars from the taxable value of properties owned by the largest contributors to his 2002 and 2006 election campaigns.
The leading donor, a California-based warehouse company, had won reductions in taxable value totaling $23 million on 11 buildings.
At the time, Reyes defended most of those assessments and said he would welcome an investigation into the values set by his office.
But he agreed that some lands owned by two contributors — Lembke and Gayeski — may have been taxed incorrectly as agricultural, and he promised to review them.
Reporter Kevin Vaughan contributed to this report.
The Denver Post
The Adams County assessor is proposing dramatic increases in the taxable values of some lands spotlighted by recent stories in The Denver Post.
The revised values affect 24 properties owned by developers and the family of a county commissioner. In some cases, assessed values for 2011 are about 200 times as much as the assessed values of the same land last year.
The changes were visible on the assessor's website this week but were abruptly pulled after The Denver Post inquired about them Wednesday. The assessor's office also removed at least 19,000 other proposed land-value changes for 2011, saying it did not want landowners to find them on the Internet before they get notified by mail in May.
John Schaul, the deputy assessor, said he feared an onslaught of early appeals if property owners discovered new values electronically, and that in some cases, the posted values were still subject to review.
"That's the reality of it. They've not been finalized," he said.
The county assessor, Gil Reyes, is ill and not expected to return to work this month.
Before the county pulled down the new assessments, the website showed assessors had decided to raise the value of about 50 acres owned by developer Robert Lembke in northeast Brighton from $4,612 to $727,150.
The actual value of a 1 1/2-acre parcel owned by Gayeski Capital Associates rose to $20,000 from $8.
And the taxable value of 3 acres owned by Commissioner Alice Nichol's family went from $33,750 to $337,543.
The vacant Nichol land, owned by a trust in her late mother's name, changed from residential to industrial. Twenty Lembke parcels changed from agricultural to commercial. Three Gayeski parcels changed from agricultural to residential.
Lembke and Gayeski have been paying $2 to $3 an acre in property taxes on those lands.
Adams County, like other Colorado counties, is conducting its biennial reassessment of properties countywide. On May 1, it will send notices of new values to nearly 200,000 property owners.
Schaul said the taxable values of the properties The Post inquired about will return to the amounts posted earlier this week, although at least one Lembke parcel was incorrectly changed from agricultural to commercial land.
In November, The Post reported that the Adams County assessor had slashed millions of dollars from the taxable value of properties owned by the largest contributors to his 2002 and 2006 election campaigns.
The leading donor, a California-based warehouse company, had won reductions in taxable value totaling $23 million on 11 buildings.
At the time, Reyes defended most of those assessments and said he would welcome an investigation into the values set by his office.
But he agreed that some lands owned by two contributors — Lembke and Gayeski — may have been taxed incorrectly as agricultural, and he promised to review them.
Reporter Kevin Vaughan contributed to this report.
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