Cobb County Home Appraisals (sales, new house, neighborhood)

[Kuya]

According to the Cobb County Assessor's website, I'm finding quite a few homes with interesting differences in appraisal price versus current listing price. Some were appraised in 2007 as much as 50K less than what they're currently being listed. A co-worker stated this site was a good resource when negotiating, whereas another co-worker stated you should use what the lender's appraiser quoted as a marker. Basically, you don't want to pay more than what the home is appraised for, especially with home values steadily dropping.

Obviously some sellers inflate the sale price knowing smart buyers will place a lower bid, as well as ask that some, if not all, closing costs be paid. This mark up serves as a buffer. So, does one go with the county's appraisal (which is from the prior year), the lender's appraisal, or none of the above (and why)?

[BobKovacs]

You can't use tax assessor's values to determine the sales price of a house unless it's a brand new house that just hit the tax rolls. Assessed value and sales price are two totally different things- you need to go by comps of recent sales in the neighborhood, and then use the lender's appraisal to determine if a price adjustment is warranted.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

You can't use tax assessor's values to determine the sales price of a house unless it's a brand new house that just hit the tax rolls. Assessed value and sales price are two totally different things- you need to go by comps of recent sales in the neighborhood, and then use the lender's appraisal to determine if a price adjustment is warranted.

Actually, you can use the Cobb tax assessor's site to determine sales price. Assessed value and sales price are two totally different things as Bob said, but the Cobb site lists both the prior sales price(s) as well as the appraised value.

As for the OP's original question, appraised prices do not tell you much. I would look at the previous sales history as well the recent comps for the neighborhood.

[spacelord75]

None of the above. The value of a house, or any item, is whatever you are willing to pay for it to own it. Not to be trite, but these appraisals and assesments really don't matter, it's whatever the marketplace dictates the price should be. IE, if a house is over-priced, no one will offer on it until it gets to a reasonable point, in their minds. If a house is offered too low, typically you would see multiple offers that would likely create a bidding war that would drive the price up more to market.

My recommendation would be to offer a price on a house that seems fair and reasonable to you and see what happens. Even a prior sales price might have been too high (ie, you should not have to pay for the previous owner's poor decision making). If the home has been on the market for a long time or is vacant, shoot a little lower.