About Sedgwick County, KS

It's that time again, but with a twist!!

Sedgwick County recently mailed its tax valuation notices. This important little piece of paper tells you what the county thinks your home could sell for as of December 31, 2008. This value is derived from the past 2 years of comparable home sales in your area. An increase in value simply means that homes like yours are selling for that percent more, not necessarily that you have made that much more in improvements.

The twist? This year Sedgwick County announced that 72% of homes will see NO increase in their value at all.

Increasing property values are generally good for everyone! It means your property is increasing in value, so your investment is growing and worth more. However, it does hit your pocketbook tax-wise. In this market, even flat values are good - that means our properties have not LOST in value like many other areas of the country. From that value they assign your home, your property taxes are then developed!

From that Appraised Value, a small percentage (11 1/2% for Residential) results in your Assessed Value (the amount they base taxes off of). That value is then multiplied by the mill levy in your area to determine the property taxes that you will pay for 2009.

For example, your house is valued at $100,000:

The Assessed Value is $11,500.

The mill levy in your area is 118.05.

Your taxes would then be 11500*.11805 = $1357.57 roughly

So if your value increased by the typical 3% for the area - your taxes roughly went up $40/year.

NOW then. You might happen to not agree with the Appraiser's Office as to your value. Keep in mind that the Appraiser's Office operates off the data it has on record, and only visits a property typically once every 6 years. So any changes, for better or for worse, might not be on their record.

If you want to appeal your property valuation, here's what to do:

1. Fill out the form on the back of your valuation notice and mail it in. Include any days/times that are not good to schedule you on and indicate why you don't agree with the value. This must be done before MARCH 31st!
2. You will receive a letter with a date and time for an informal hearing. If you can't make that, call as soon as possible because times fill up quickly.
3. The hearing is informal. You will meet face to face with one of the real estate appraisers who actually goes out and does the evaluations of property.
4. Bring any supporting documentation - if you disagree about the condition of the property then bring in photos, bids for repairs, etc. If you've had it independently appraised or recently bought it, bring those in. If you disagree about size, amount of basement finish, or such, you'll need to request that they re-inspect the property in person.

They're fairly reasonable people and understand that they do "mass" appraisal and individual homes may vary. They typically have a 60% change rate - meaning that they do change values for 60% of those that appeal. But appealing is the first step!

Now if you get "no change" in value from the hearing, you can appeal to the next level.

For more information, do visit the Appraiser's Office website, or call them at 316.660.9110. You can also look up your property's appraised value at this site, if you don't already know it.

And if you do decide to appeal - Good Luck to you!

And if you get your valuation and decide that you're ready to sell that gold-mine of yours, give me a hollar. I'll get those taxes out of your name and into someone else's! :)

~Sheree

316-461-0575 ............. sheree@rwwichita.com ................ www.KansasHomeBuzz.com

Autism... in Wichita, KS!

You may or may not know how you are affected by autism, but it's around you. That child screaming in the restaurant nearby, that parent pulling her hair out, that family next door that never comes out, the mother missing work constantly, that kid in the principal's office.... You just never know.

With 1 in 150 children here being diagnosed with some form of autism spectrum, it's around you somewhere.

Today in Wichita, we celebrated learning and autism with the 2nd Annual Heartspring Autism Care Walk - a great time for families with autistic spectrum children and their supporters to get together in an understanding environment and share, learn, and have fun!

We had another, more personal, experience with Autistic Wichita this week. If you know anyone here with autism, you probably have heard the name of Dr. Kerschen. She is the one and only Pediatric Deveopmental Doctor in the area, and considered to be our local expect on Autism.

As the one and only, her wait list is huge. We got on it over a year and half ago. And just had our appointment. It was worth the wait, frustrating as it was!

We are anxiously awaiting his follow-up appointment, and have a lot of homework, but I feel like we finally found a doctor that understands us, and that feels good.

If you are moving to the Wichita metro area and have a child on the Autism spectrum - even if it's months in the future - go ahead and get on her waiting list! It will make your move smoother!

For other local Autism resources and questions, feel free to drop me an email or pick up the phone and cal me. When my son was diagnosed, I knew nothing. I still have a ton to learn, but I would be happy to help share those here that I've found helpful in my search!

Happy Autism Awareness!!!

________________________________________________________________________________

Sheree - proud Mom of a 5yo Autistic Wonder-kid!

sheree@rwwichita.com 316-461-0575 Realty World Alliance

My mother, Myrna Haas, who is also a REALTOR in Wichita, KS is also a breeder of Bichon Frise dogs (we jokingly and lovingly refer to them as bitchin' frizzies). She's been breeding them for roughly 20 years and has some really fantastic dogs that are treated like a part of the family.

If you ever know of anyone who is looking for a reputable breeder, this is one! She's had her dogs go all over the United States to new, loving owners.

Find yourself sitting around thinking I'll never be able to purchase a New Home? Don't feel alone. With the 24/7 broadcasting of doom and gloom about the Credit Crunch is enough to make all of us want to crawl into bed and hide under the covers.

First thing you need to do is get a clear assessment of where you are. Knowledge is power and I want to help you gain that power back. Maybe you have a few late pays, collections, you're buried in credit card debt, or you have never established credit. You CAN and WILL overcome all of these if you're willing to do the work, but you need to work smart.

Make an appointment today 316.729.3736. Together with the help of a Loan Officer we will go over your concerns and layout a game plan to help make you successful.

Sometimes all it takes is a few short months. So let's get you started down the right path to SUCCESS.

Denise M Gray
Coldwell Banker Stucky & Associates

denise.gray@coldwellbanker.com

Now that you're all whistling like the Snow White Dwarves :)

We had a phenomenal year last year and because of that, among many other reasons, we've made a huge and exciting change to our business philosophy that we want to share with all of our friends!

As some of you may know already, our son was diagnosed with Autism and we have been struggling with finding help and treatment for him. We recently stumbled upon a doctor using a biomedical treatment that has helped him out tremendously! You probably know someone who has been affected with some sort of illness or disease for which there's not a lot of research or cures. If you haven't been affected personally, I'm sure we can all agree that a child shouldn't have to "stumble" upon a working treatment!

And so we've made treatment research a BIG part of our business! Starting this year, we have made a commitment as a family, business, and citizens, to donate $200 of EVERY house we sell to a treatment research charity. Half will go to Autism research and half will go to whomever our clients wish to support! So if its cancer research, diabetes, arthritis, or whatever YOU care about, we do too! Our goal is to hit $7000 in donations this year!

I know these are tough times, but we can still help out others! I challenge you and your business to do what you can out there! Together, we can all make a difference, whether its an autistic child struggling against a lack of knowledge, or a cancer ridden grandmother longing to walk with her grandkids again. Join us in making a commitment to helping others!

Life is good...

Sheree and Kelly