KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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With the Wyandotte County property valuation appeal deadline quickly approaching on Thursday, March 26, neighbors are stepping up to help each other navigate the process.
Residents are seeing a huge spike in property valuations this year.
Jodi Maxey built her dream home in Edwardsville and moved in around September 2021.
When she received her valuation, she saw the value of her house jump by $114,000.
We met Tuesday to talk about the valuations.
"To jump $114K in the value, I was mad,” Maxey said. “I felt like they were trying to take my house away from me. We worked hard for this. This is our dream home, and we want to live here for the rest of our lives.”
Maxey, who is a mortgage underwriter, pulled her own comparable properties and said she has no idea how the county came up with her house value.
"That’s what frustrates me,” Maxey said. “Is they put it on us to have to fight. It’s like you have to stop whatever you’re doing and try and figure this out, and that’s just not right."
Maxey said she understands the need for property taxes, but she wants the county to look at cutting its budget instead of constantly increasing the burden on homeowners.
"People don’t just have money sitting by being like, ‘Property taxes are going to go up, here’s some extra money I have,’” Maxey said. “We have to cut it from our budget."
Amber Dollard, an associate broker at Lynch Real Estate, is in her 22nd year in the real estate industry.
She was licensed when she was 18 and has spent her entire career in Wyandotte County.
"We are truly taxing homeowners right out of their houses here in Wyandotte County," Dollard said. "For our seniors, that’s detrimental.”
To help ease the burden, Dollard is offering free evaluations for residents, putting data on her website and helping people file appeals.
She also has resources for seniors on how to access incentives and tools that could help them specifically.
Dollard has already had about 100 people take her up on her offer this year.
"Every year about this time, I get loads of emails, calls and text messages from former clients, friends and family just needing help," Dollard said. “’Is my valuation accurate, or am I being overtaxed?’ And that’s really where I come in.”
Dollard said the biggest issue she has come across this year is what the county considers comparable properties versus what residents feel their properties are worth.
"Comparing apples to apples is the most important part of this process,” Dollard said. “And that is what is really being missed. We really have to make sure that our square footage is on point and in a comparable range. We have to make sure that our finishes are in a comparable range. If I can’t sell your home today for what the county says that it’s worth, we have an issue.”
Wyandotte County Appraiser Matthew Willard told me earlier this month that residents should provide their own data if they disagree with the county's assessment.
"If somebody is aware of a sale they feel is a better comparable, bring it as part of the appeals process, and that’s how we can look at that," Willard said.
Maxey joined the Wyandotte County Property Tax Protesters page and filed her appeal through a Facebook group leader who is trying to get thousands of residents to appeal.
She now has someone representing her.
"So that’s why I wanted to kind of reach out to other people and have them help me with it because obviously they know more than I do," Maxey said. "There’s so many citizens out there that are helping out. There’s real estate agents that have come along to help out. It’s encouraging to see that; I just don’t know how much it’s going to help right now.”
Despite all the help out there, Maxey was honest about her current position.
"Honestly, I feel hopeless,” Maxey said. “I don’t feel like anything’s going to change.”
Dollard continues to help because of her connection to the community.
"Here in Wyandotte County, it takes a village," Dollard said. "I will fight every single day for the homeowners and the people because the people here are like no other."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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