Record Number Of Homeowners Protest Reappraisals Larimer County

(CBS4) - Property values are increasing across the state, but this year Larimer County saw a record number of homeowners protest the most recent reappraisals. In two years, the county's reassessment priced some homes at nearly double their value. Now, County Assessor Bob Overbeck, who was hired this year, says he is trying to make improvements.

"I'm dedicated to improving the process. I'm commitment to high standards of fairness, accountability and transparency," Overbeck wrote in an email to CBS4.

Overbeck says his predecessor left the office with a proprietary modeling system, which he says is part of the problem. Other factors are just natural when there's growth in the housing market.

This spring in Colorado, it's estimated every county saw on average over 17% increases in property values, according to Colorado's Division of Property Taxation. In Larimer County, median home values increased by 18.6% between 2017 and 2019. Other counties saw much higher increases.

"I was shocked," said Kay Hicks.

Holding a small white piece of paper she received in the mail, Hicks showed CBS4 what her reappraisal was.

"You see, $490,000 is what they valued it at. From $300,000."

From 2017 to 2019, the Larimer County Assessor's Office claimed Hicks' home had increased by $190,000. It's an increase of nearly 64 percent that Hicks says nearly gave her a heart attack.

She and her husband purchased the home, about 5.5 miles north of Fort Collins, for $110,000 in the 1970s. Since then, the value has increased between $12,000 and $20,000 every two years.

"You're thinking everything else is going up, so that's okay. But, you know, to almost double?" said Hicks. "I thought 'Boy, I should have a pretty fancy house for that price.'"

Hicks reached out to other neighbors and anyone else she could, not only to see if others reappraisals were as high but to make sure they got the letter.

"That's all you get is this tiny little card," Hicks continued, "I just really think they didn't think people would look. They didn't think people would catch it."

With a window of just 3 weeks to protest the reappraisal, Hicks jumped in line with more than 24,000 others.

Overbeck says a record number of people protested the 2019 assessment -- 24,100 to be exact. Of that number, 64% won their cases, including Hicks.

"I was jumping up and down (saying) 'Whoo hoo,'" she said.

The assessor changed Hicks' appraisal to $321,000. She thought that was much more reasonable, especially since Hicks and her husband never plan to sell.

Unfortunately, for at least two of Hicks' neighbors, it is too late. One didn't have time to protest and another told CBS4 she never received a letter. She said her husband, who normally takes care of the reappraisal, recently passed away and she had not been paying attention.

Overbeck says his predecessor, Steve Miller, left a mess to clean up and says several weeks before taking office, he learned that Miller had a proprietary appraisal model and was leaving with it.

Via email, he told CBS4 "In summary, It takes a little time to turn a battleship around."

Additional Resources

This month, County Assessor Bob Overbeck says he hired a new chief deputy assessor, Danielle Simpson. He says Simpson has a strong background in modeling and mass appraisals and teaches classes on modeling with other county offices. In an effort to create more transparency, Overbeck created an interactive heat map that shows the assessor values of all 153,000 parcels for 2019, which may be a first in the country. In March, Overbeck hired consultant, Russ Thimgan, to review office systems, processes and make recommendations for improvements. That report is expected to be finalized within the next 30 days and will give the assessors office a better road map for the 2021 reassessment cycle.