County figures new appraisals

Most values about 5.7 percent higher.

By CHRISTIE APPELHANZ

The Capital-Journal

Thousands of property owners soon will receive greetings in their mailboxes from the county government in the form of property appraisals for 2000.

While most homeowners can expect modest increases of about 5.7 percent in the appraised value of their property, some who own homes at Lake Sherwood may see increases several times that much.

Shawnee County appraiser Carl Blume said that is because real estate sales indicated the appraised property values of conventional, two-story residences in the Sherwood area were too low. Evaluations of ranch and hillside-style homes at the lake were addressed last year, he said, with some increased as much as five times above the average.

Appraisal notices will be mailed to all county property owners Wednesday.

The appraised value of the roughly 70,000 parcels of real estate in the county increased about 4.49 percent in 2000, not including nearly $148 million worth of new construction. The appraised value of property in Shawnee County totaled more than $7 billion.

The appraisal staff has set the combined value of the 54,723 residential property parcels in the county at more than $4.6 billion, compared to nearly $4.3 billion last year.

Blume stressed the 4.49 percent increase is an average; some evaluations will be higher and some will be lower.

"People in my office cringe when this comes out," he said. "Anybody with a number higher thinks it must be wrong."

Commercial property --- not including new construction --- was valued at nearly $1.126 billion in 2000, a 3.23 percent increase over 1999. The appraisal staff set the value of agricultural property at nearly $43 million, a 7.38 percent increase, and farm property at more than $161 million, a 6.82 percent increase.

This year, the county used "trending," as well as traditional appraising methods that consider such things as square footage, the number of bathrooms and location. With trending, Blume said, appraisers consider the price of other homes sold in the neighborhood rather than "just blindly accepting a computer-generated number."

"We've tried real hard in the county to institute a level of stability in the appraisal process," Blume said. "With trending, we're trying to get where the value system makes more sense."

If property owners think the value assigned by the county isn't fair, they have until April 1 to appeal by contacting the county appraiser.

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