Accuracy of FMV listed on tax roles?

Question

Just figured how to access prop info by address online from the county assessors office.

Can anyone tell me if the FMV listed here leans more towards Zillow estimates or is it closer to the figure a realtor might give you? This is just another variable I'm using to try to determine a fairly accurate ARV.

Thanx,
Tom

Jim Wineinger · Answer

I suspect that everyone is finding things like this happening recently because of the large downturn combined with the amount of time it takes to get to each house as an over-utilized and under-staffed county appraisor. They are behind in updating their assessments and therefore now above someFMV's. But as the general rule goes in a normal economic cycle they are pretty consistantly a little lower than normal.

But then again you have buyers appraisers FMV and sellers appraisers FMV which vary widely often do.  The "comps" FMV do vary because the appraiser knows who he is working for and the figure that they are hoping to get.

This is not true of all appraisers, but is all to common within the industry which is why I do not like using comps because it does not take into account the actual home's faults and good points.

It would be like appraising the value of each person by the "others" in the area without looking to see that this person is a "diamond in the ruff" in an area of gang members.

Thomas Thompson · Answer

Thank you all very much for your input. I've been gone all day & just walked in the door. I intend to base the majority of my ARV figure on comps but it's nice to know where other FMV figures stack up against it.

Allen B. · Answer

I can't speak for New York, but the tax roll here in Memphis is sometimes twice what a property is really worth.  The state guidelines state foreclosures can not be used.  Many of the zip codes we concentrate on have no retail comps in the past 6 months.

One house we acquired 4 months ago for $22,000 just was assessed for $79,000.  Since no one that wants to be a homeowner in that area can get a loan right now it is hard to tell the true value.

Back hen I was flipping properties I loved to advertise the tax value, but that was before I became a broker.

Jim Wineinger · Answer

zillow is definately out of wack on the high side.

tax assessor, by law in most states, are actual FMV according to the figures they have available to them. Recent sales (comps) within the county, but they can not "discriminate" in any way. So I have found that their comps are any home of the same general size, shape, and condition not matter where it is in the county.

This tends to make them error on the low side of what most would consider FMV and most home owners attempt to get their assessment lowered by any way they can, legally, so their taxes are less. Also you may find that the assessors figures are often 1-5 years behind, depending on how long it takes to get around to doing at least a drive by of each house in the county. This also means that they will miss some of the "improvements" that actually add value to the FMV and the homeowners wont report it (if not required to) to keep their taxes lower.

Therefore I would use it when purchasing a home to bring down the FMV in my favor as a buyer and Zillow to bring up my FMV if I am a seller.

Tanner Loyd · Answer

I use the tax assessors websites to find my own comps. I try not to bother realtors until I really need them. Most assessors pages have plot maps where you can pull PIN numbers for nearby homes and then go back and look for recent sales. Also, some assessors will do comp searches for you for a fee. Give them the address (PIN is better) of the home your interested in and they can sometimes do a look-up of recent sales in the area.

BTW, I love the website http://www.netronline.com/ for quick access to multiple state government pages. Check it out if you haven't already.

Justin S. · Answer

Tom-

I don't use zillow or the tax assessor. You need to get access to recently sold comps or have an agent do it.