All Forum Posts by: Brad S.

Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning the sales prices are not recorded in the public record. But, they are available in MLS transactions and since many or most sales transactions occur utilizing the MLS, many sales prices are available to those with MLS access. Property taxes are typically based on (or calculated using) the market value of the property at the time of assessment, which are not necessarily the same as a sale price.

Although, it would be nice, you won't be assessed a tax value based on the $1 sale price you may've reported on the deed, in TX. You will be assessed based on the estimated market value of the property, as of the assessment date. Now, if you buy a newly built property in TX, you may have the low assessment based on the vacant land for the first tax year, until the records catch up the following year. But, then the Assessor will estimate a new market value to base the property taxes on.

I don't know about OH taxes, but in TX, they seem to average close 2.6%-2.8%, at least mine do. Obviously, that may vary depending on the specific area. And in CA, the assessed value is based on the market value of when the ownership transferred. In some states the taxes are based on a % of the assessed value, but the assessed value may still be based on the market value, at the time of assessment. 

I don't know the price of houses you are looking at in TX, but I would be conservative on the property taxes, to be safe. The $107/mth the lenders are estimating may make sense on a $50k property, but would be low on a $200k one. 

I don't necessarily see a difference now as compared to a while ago, but then again, I may not be reading the same posts you are. But, I do see a good amount of helpful. informative responses, along with the self-promotion. Generally though, I'd say many people offer their genuine advice/experience/knowledge, more than just promoting. Some of them you just have to sift through looking for the nuggets.

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COME ON @Steve Vaughan !  Use the proper term the Realtors use .... "Price IMPROVEMENTS!"

LOL

Quote from @Caroline Gerardo:

To lighten your worries ~ I get the feeling he doesn't look like the picture above.

Ignore the complainers.

 Hey, you can't post my pic without my permission!

:P

As an appraiser, i'd say possibly, but not necessarily the real estate. 

People seem to confuse the real estate with the business. An str is a business, beyond just the real estate. It is a hospitality business. So, generally a good str track record would not increase the real estate value, but it might add to the business value.

 Yes, that should definitely be taken into account. The issue I have had is bad appraisals or appraisers not doing a thorough job and just doing just enough to get the report done and no more. The proper way to do it would be to do a analysis or calculation of appreciation for your area, to support the rise in value. When I do that, I do a linear regression of sale price per square foot and trend it per quarter, and then look at the time period I want to analyze. But, most appraisers don't use the same tools I do .

Anyway, I would see if you can find some data sources showing a high appreciation rate for the areas of your houses. Maybe sale prices/sf per quarter or annually. And hopefully they will show a high appreciation rate to help you. Then give that data and the data source to the appraiser. This gives them data they may be able to use to justify the increase since you purchase the house/s. Hopefully that helps.

Appraiser here to clear that up  :P

Yes, it is relevant and No, it shouldn't affect the current value. There...all clear now, YOUR WELCOME!.  LOL

Ok, a little more detail. The relevance comes into play because we are observing the condition and quality of the Subject property. So, if I am inspecting a 50 year old house that appears to have been updated/upgraded recently, I want to know, so I can justify the current quality and condition and value it accordingly. Also. per the common lender required appraisal form (FNMA Form 1004) we are specifically asked about any updating/remodeling done to a property within the past 15 years. 

And we are required to report and analyze any prior sales of the Subject property for the past 3 years. Sometimes, there is a big discrepancy between a recent prior sale and a current value. We need to be able to justify that. Sometimes that is due to a remodel and sometime it is due to a prior distressed sale, but we need to analyze it and discuss it and make sense of it.

So, in your situation, I would tell the appraiser any info you think that would be helpful to explain why your property is worth more now. In other words, if you bought it relatively recently for a lower price, due to the seller being extra motivated, then tell the appraiser that. Maybe the Seller had to move for a job tfr or was in financial distress, or some other personal issues, etc. 

Or, if your house/s were renovated relatively recently, within the past 15 years, then it would help you for the appraiser to know that info, even if a previous owner did it. It may potentially help them classify the quality and condition higher, which may translate into a higher valuation.

But, the value shouldn't be affected based on who did the renovation, you are previous owner. But, the appraiser may also mistakenly think the renovations were done a long time ago, if you don't tell them and that might hurt the valuation.

Hope that helps.

First, This sounds like something the Seller should have disclosed. I would contact a local real estate attorney and consult with them. 

If it was originally marketed and sold to you as a legal triplex, and the Seller's either knew or "should of" known it was legally only a two-family, then it seems that they would be liable. But, again, that is for an attorney to tell you.

I had a similar situation many years ago. I bought a 6 unit property, only to find out, about a year later, that it was really a legal 2 unit, which was converted into 6 units at some point. But, it was sold to me as a 6 unit and I reasonably expected it to be a legal 6 unit. I went back to the Sellers and told them they had a choice: Either give me my money back or assist in getting the zoning changed to allow it to be a legal 6 unit property. We were fortunate to be able to have the zoning changed and avoided any fireworks.

But, you should have also read through the title documents. The closing company (I assume it's similar to our escrow) does not typically have any responsibility to check the title docs. Their job is to make sure the transaction goes as agreed, based on the terms in the purchase agreement. 

But, it sounds like your Agent should have caught that also. I am not sure if they are liable in any way, but I would speak with them about that also.

There is nothing illegal about it. But, as others have said the issue is the what the lender will allow. These type of creative financing scenarios were more prevalent in the 90's, and many times were done as wraps (AITD's). I believe most lenders will allow up to 3% credits, but I am not doing loans these days, so I dunno.

 Interesting.

I've had some properties where the Buyers seemed to value it the same as permitted, or as an Appraiser, I might give it a value similar to legal gla and just adjust for a "cost to cure," to represent what it might take to get it permitted.