Matt Bevin's Anchorage home now valued at almost twice what he paid in controversial deal

Gov. Matt Bevin's mansion and the 10 acres it sits on are now valued at $2.9 million under a new round of local property valuation updates — $1.3 million higher than what a company owned by Bevin paid for it slightly more than a year ago.

The 81 percent difference follows questions from last year over the home's true value and whether Bevin got a sweetheart deal when he bought the seven-bedroom, 9,100-square-foot estate from friend and donor Neil Ramsey in March 2017.

Background: Complaints over Bevin's mansion unanimously dismissed by ethics panel

Colleen Younger, chief of staff for Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator Tony Lindauer, said the increase primarily is due to the value of the acreage, which an independent appraiser hired by the agency set at $165,000 per acre, not $37,500, as an appraiser hired by Bevin and Ramsey had claimed was the fair market price a year ago.

Bevin's staff in Frankfort did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

The PVA office posted the updated valuation on its website at noon after Lindauer announced that the 2018 real property assessment roll will open for public inspection on May 7.

Timeline: What's going on with Matt Bevin's Anchorage house

The updated assessment on Bevin's property shows the land valued at $1,651,650, and the improvements, the house and other buildings, at $1,248,350, for a total, of $2,900,000.

Anchorage Place LLC, a company owned by Bevin, bought the home and 10 acres for $1.6 million from a company controlled by Ramsey in March 2017. The price raised concerns because a prior PVA valuation on the mansion alone was set at $2,134,780.

After Courier Journal questioned the price as very low, Bevin insisted that the house was rundown and needed work. He said he'd paid more than a fair price for the property, which was carved from 19 acres owned by Ramsey's company.

Ramsey has the right of first refusal if Bevin were to ever sell the property, according to the deed.

One real estate site described the home and property last year as an "exquisite and rare offering" in historic and exclusive Anchorage.

From last year: This is where Gov. Matt Bevin and his family are living

The governor and Ramsey appealed Lindauer’s valuation, and an appraiser they hired set the value of the entire 19-acre tract at $2.15 million. The appraiser, John May, said the value of the 10-acre portion that Bevin bought was $1.39 million.

Last August the Jefferson County Board of Assessment Appeals ruled in favor of Bevin and Ramsey and established the value of $2.15 million for the 19 acres. No separate value was placed on Bevin’s 10 acres, since the board wasn't asked to set one.

However, Ramsey had divided the 19-acre tract in early 2017 into three parcels — Bevin's 10 acres, three acres of frontage on Evergreen and a remaining six acres that were merged with an adjacent 14 acres. That subdividing required the PVA to return and set new values on the land and improvements, including houses, barns and swimming pools, for the 2018 assessment roll.

"Because it was a high-profile case, we thought it better to get an outside, independent appraisal," Younger said, adding that the staff agreed to record the low end of the assessment range submitted by veteran appraiser Otto Spence.

After comparing Spence and May's appraisals, PVA officials found that May's failed to account for the fact that the property is in the Anchorage Independent Public Schools, which adds significant value. May's also didn't report that the site is connected to sewers.

His per acre price of $37,500 also was far less than what Spence determined was the fair market value at $165,000 per acre. That rate was also incorporated into the new assessments on adjoining parcels, Younger said.

"We do anticipate perhaps an appeal, and if that's the case, there will be some comparisons between the two appraisals," she said.

A phone message and email sent to May were not returned Friday afternoon.

Revelations about the sale triggered two complaints filed with the state government ethics commission alleging the transaction amounted to an improper gift to Bevin from Ramsey, who was a Bevin donor and had been appointed by the governor to the board of the Kentucky Retirement Systems.

Consider this: Much of Bevin's house was blocked off from board during inspection, PVA says

The ethics commission rejected the complaints last July, saying that even if the allegations were true, Ramsey is not a lobbyist or other type of person from whom the governor is banned from taking gifts.

Earlier this year, May's wife, Shellie A. May, landed a $90,000-a-year job with the state as executive director of the Kentucky Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs. The state cited her nursing and managerial credentials and her "personal experience as a caregiver to a special needs child." Bevin approved the appointment.

Meanwhile, John May, a Republican, has filed to run for Property Valuation Administrator, and so has Younger, a Democrat who'd like to replace Lindauer. His term ends in December, and he is not seeking re-election.

Asked about the potential matchup, Younger said "this has nothing to do with me as a candidate. It has nothing to do with John May as a candidate."

Grace Schneider: 502-582-4082; gschneider@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @gesinfk. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/graces