Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have my house on the market for 300k. The county values it at 278k, and most of the houses in my area are selling for a bit below or a bit above the county value. The comps bear out my asking price, however, and I got an offer (20k below asking) after 2 weeks of being on the MLS.
Well, today I found out that my county just adjusted the assessment value on my house to 178k. No other house in my neighborhood dropped this much in the new assessments. The only think I can think of is that the new assessment must be taking into account the fact that the short sale next door sold for 150k in January (it was the same house, age, condition, etc.).
Today my buyer informed me that he is rescinding his last verbal counteroffer of 282k and wants to offer 200k to reflect the new county assessment.
I thought that short sales were not comps? And what do I do about this?
From one layperson to another, I say let that person walk! Why? Because IMO, your place just gained a bonus point in my books: Low taxes. If your house is really comparable to the other homes around you, yet your tax value is what you've stated, that is something to grin and nod about when informing potential buyers. We are in the middle of a purchase and our situation is the opposite situation. We're upset that the county appraised our place significantly higher than the purchase price and higher than many homes around it. There is nothing positive about it. We are going to pay out the wazoo for that and it is the very rare occurrence for them to reassess it upon request, or lower it. Wont happen.
From one layperson to another, I say let that person walk! Why? Because IMO, your place just gained a bonus point in my books: Low taxes. If your house is really comparable to the other homes around you, yet your tax value is what you've stated, that is something to grin and nod about when informing potential buyers. We are in the middle of a purchase and our situation is the opposite situation. We're upset that the county appraised our place significantly higher than the purchase price and higher than many homes around it. There is nothing positive about it. We are going to pay out the wazoo for that and it is the very rare occurrence for them to reassess it upon request, or lower it. Wont happen.
I couldn't have said it better. That's the first thing I thought about - lower property taxes. That's a strong selling point in my area.
I'm no expert, but I know enough to say that tax assessments aren't necessarily indicative of what the house will appraise for. If your buyer had a clue, he would go through with the offer and see where the appraisal comes back. Assuming there is a financing contingency in the purchase agreement, he would be able to walk away if the appraisal was too low. Assuming the appraisal comes back close to the purchase price, he gets to enjoy some ridiculously low taxes for a while.
I have my house on the market for 300k. The county values it at 278k, and most of the houses in my area are selling for a bit below or a bit above the county value. The comps bear out my asking price, however, and I got an offer (20k below asking) after 2 weeks of being on the MLS.
Well, today I found out that my county just adjusted the assessment value on my house to 178k. No other house in my neighborhood dropped this much in the new assessments. The only think I can think of is that the new assessment must be taking into account the fact that the short sale next door sold for 150k in January (it was the same house, age, condition, etc.).
Today my buyer informed me that he is rescinding his last verbal counteroffer of 282k and wants to offer 200k to reflect the new county assessment.
I thought that short sales were not comps? And what do I do about this?
The County tax value does not necessarily equate Market Value.
Are you in a market where short sales and foreclosures are prominent? If not, hire yourself an appraiser and see what the Market Value should be.
In my county, the taxes are levied based on the last sales price, not the assessed value. So the only way to pay low taxes is to buy low. And in my county short sales and foreclosures are prominent, yes.
This is devastating. My realtor just told me he is walking. Even though I agree that county values do not equal market value, it is very difficult to explain to potential buyers why I am asking 300k for a home that was county-valued at 278k in 2008 but just this week is valued at 178k (and will stay at that all through 2009 I assume). Especially since I have made no improvements to the house and there are no exact same comps for my house except the short sale next door.
I still think the bigger question is: How did the county appraise my house? Was it the short sale next door that did me in? I cannot believe I just lost 100k. I should have taken the low offer I got in the first week.
In my county, the taxes are levied based on the last sales price, not the assessed value. So the only way to pay low taxes is to buy low. And in my county short sales and foreclosures are prominent, yes.
This is devastating. My realtor just told me he is walking. Even though I agree that county values do not equal market value, it is very difficult to explain to potential buyers why I am asking 300k for a home that was county-valued at 278k in 2008 but just this week is valued at 178k (and will stay at that all through 2009 I assume). Especially since I have made no improvements to the house and there are no exact same comps for my house except the short sale next door.
I still think the bigger question is: How did the county appraise my house? Was it the short sale next door that did me in? I cannot believe I just lost 100k. I should have taken the low offer I got in the first week.
If taxes are levied against the last sale price, and not the assessed value, what purpose does an assessment serve? Why do they spend the time energy & money required to assess your properties?
Are we going to see even lower prices this year because of all the new assessments? This is scary. By the way in the N Virginia area houses are selling for county value or below but rarely higher........
Last edited by saltzman143; 03-24-2009 at 08:16 PM..
Banfforbust, definitely get a widely varied opinion on this. I talked about the tax appraised value with our loan officer, the county people, and people we met in the area, etc. My realtor has not been particularly straight-forward with us, nor worked on our behalf. I'm telling you this because if she were your realtor I can guarantee that she'd be using this tax appraised value you just received as a means of gently but assertively convincing you to lower your price, etc etc. We ended up with a bit of a lemon, I think. Hopefully your realtor is a gem!
If taxes are levied against the last sale price, and not the assessed value, what purpose does an assessment serve? Why do they spend the time energy & money required to assess your properties?
Good question.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
