Sunward Ho Ranches (Kingman, Page: sales, assessor, home)

[jdees]

Trying to locate information on purchase price in the late 50's for Sunward Ho Ranches near Kingman, AZ. Can anyone help or refer me to someone who can? Property was part of an estate and we recently sold it but need to establish an approximate purchase price.

[kdog]

If I were you, I'd contact the county assessors office. They should have records dating back that far.

County of Mohave, Arizona - Mohave County Assessor Home Page

[jdees]

Thanks--tried that. They don't have record of the selling price.

[kdog]

Sale price, no. But they should have records of the land valuation at that time for tax purposes. That is their job after all. Assessments typically run a little low, so I would add on another 30% or so. You only need an approximate value, as you said. So that would be pretty darn close. No?
Besides, the figure you put down will not be questioned unless you're audited. The approach you took is reasonable and I would believe would pass muster with the IRS. If you can't get the actual sales price then neither can they.

Of course I understand you want the valuation at that time to be as high as possible to avoid paying capital gains. However, the truth of that matter is the land at that time would have been extremely cheap. Even if you're off by a factor of 2 or 3, you're talking about a couple of thousand dollars of valuation at the most. So your tax exposure is several hundred dollars either way. Really not enough money to lose any sleep about.