INFORMAL HEARING PREPARATION

It is our goal that each Informal Hearing will be conducted in such a manner that after the property owner and/or agent presents their information to the hearing officer, and vice versa, an agreed upon valuation and classification decision can be reached. It is also our goal that every property owner and/or agent receives written documentation confirming a decision before leaving our office.

What Should You Bring To Your Appeal Hearing?

Nothing is required since the burden of proof is on the Appraiser’s Office. However, the key to any successful Informal Hearing is the presentation of well-organized documentation that supports your opinion of value and/or classification. Listed below are several examples of documentation that we have found to be most helpful in supporting valuation or classification appeals. The information can vary depending upon the property as we have it identified.

RESIDENTIAL HEARINGS

1. Bring photos of your home, which should include one of the entire house as well as detail photos of any damage to the structure or anything else that you think would affect the value. There are no facilities for videos.
2. Check to see if your home is valued similar to other houses in your neighborhood. More or less living area, basement finish, garage conversions, and room additions as well as sheds and detached garages can make a difference in value. If you need help in comparing values, use our Information and Assistance Center as explained below.
3. If you know of any similar homes in your neighborhood that have sold within the last 2-3 years, bring that information to the appeal hearing.
4. If you have had a recent fee appraisal on your home, or you have purchased it recently, bring a copy of the appraisal, sales contract, and /or closing statement.
5. If you have a recent estimate for repairs of structural or other damage to your home bring copies of those estimates.

AGRICULTURAL HEARINGS

1. If the owner is not doing the farming, he/she should provide an affidavit from the farmer indicating the current agricultural use of the land, receipts from the sale of agricultural products from the land, and an aerial photograph outlining the area.
2. If the owner is farming the property, he/she should supply receipts indicating sales of current agricultural production and photos showing current agricultural production.
3. If the owner is concerned about outbuilding classification, building photos should be provided. There are no facilities for videos.
4. In order to substantiate adverse conditions such as flooding the property owner should provide adequate documentation to verify such conditions, and an aerial map outlining the area.

COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL HEARINGS

1. The owner or agent should provide a detailed summarization of the last three (3) years of actual income, expense, occupancy, plus a sample lease and rent roll for the subject property.
2. The owner or agent should provide any current sales information on the subject property accompanied by a sales contract or closing statement.
3. Verified comparable sales should include a sales contract or closing statement, and if possible, a detailed summarization of income and expense for the last three years.
4. The owner or agent should provide a copy of all prior hearing result letters showing any changes made at an upper level hearing.

INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE

If you need help in obtaining information for your hearing, come and visit our Information and Assistance Center located in the County Courthouse, 525 N. Main, Room 227, Wichita, Kansas. At this location, you can conduct research using public computer terminals, or you can review printouts of property data and sales information in your neighborhood. Records can either be printed directly from the system, or copies of records can be obtained free of charge.   For extraordinary requests, a small copying fee may apply. Furthermore, taxpayers can access property information online for their own and surrounding properties.