bed/bath not matching tax records...red flag?

Question

Hi All,

Doing due diligence on a SFH in Pinson. Was told house is 4/2 but tax records say 3/1. Am I not looking at the tax records correctly? Or is this a red flag?

Any insight on this is appreciated.

Josh Caldwell · Answer

Not a red flag in general. My personal house is incorrectly recorded in my county records. The big question here is did some previous owner do an unpermitted addition, THAT would be a problem  As long as the house is original you are fine.

James Rodgers · Answer

Definitely not a red flag as tax records are very often not a current reflection of the property. I’d say maybe 30% of the time they’re off in Birmingham, either finished square footage, beds/baths count, or both

Will Gaston · Answer

@Kelly Chun in my experience the tax record/listing discrepancy is a fantastic way to get good deals.

I just bought a duplex that was listed on MLS as ~300SF smaller than it actually was (I had it measured during due diligence.) Pretty big win when comps are getting close to $200/SF in my market.

Don't assume that it's necessarily bad...just find out more information.

Pete Harper · Answer

@Kelly Chun

Definitely a red flag. We were under contract on a property. During the due diligence period the appraiser found out that there was 600 sqrft of space not shown on the tax records. The owner was a contractor and had made additions to the home without pulling permits. Suddenly his 2000sqrft home became 1400 sqrft and it didn't appraise. We asked for price reduction but he was underwater on his loan. We ended up walking away and he landed in foreclosure six months later. The additions were a huge unknown. Without permits there are no inspections. Who knows what was done. In some cases the city will force you to bring it up to code or tear it down. You can also run into issues with bank financing.

Theresa Harris · Answer

I wouldn't worry.  See if renos were done and if they had permits pulled.  I just checked one of my properties.  I've owned it for 7 years and is it a 2 bed 2 bath.  The govt website had it is a 2/2 and for whatever reason, they now list it as a 3/2.  Others in the same complex are all 2/2, but those descriptions range from 2/2 up to 3/3-all of the units are the same.

Kelly Chun · Answer

It is a basement conversion...added bed and bath. I assume this would still need a permit? I submitted an online request to Jefferson County to confirm.

Kelly Chun · Answer

@James Rodgers good to know, thanks! I will definitely ask them about this discrepancy though and see what they say.

James Rodgers · Answer

You do have to talk to the Jefferson County permit department to get the records of what’s been pulled

bed/bath not matching tax records...red flag?

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