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We do preliminary research on a property and bring it to a listing appointment. It includes things like tax records and comps in the area to get an idea of what it may be worth. It's not always what we list it for once we see the house. No need to fire an agent for this. It would be more lazy to show up without having what information there is on record to show them.
How do you know which sales are comparable is you haven't seen the Subject yet?
If the county has it listed as a two bedroom then the third bedroom may not be permitted. That could muck up an appraisal when it's time to sell.
We had a property that the county had the lower level (all above grade) listed as basement square footage. At appraisal for a refi, the appraiser who came out to the house and saw that the entire lower level was above grade appraised the lower level square footage as a basement and didn't include that as actual square footage because of what the county records showed. Our 2100 square foot house was being appraised as a 1300 square foot house. We had to get the county to correct their records to include the lower level square footage. Our appraisal went up $20000 and our assessed value only went up $5000. I would find out why the county has your house info listed incorrectly.
We're having the opposite problem. The county records have always indicated our house to be 2810 sq ft, and we have paid taxes on that amount for 10 years. Now we are going to sell and find that our house is only 2535 sq ft. Two different appraisers have measured and come within 50 feet of each other, both around 2500. It appears the county just did a "drive by" assessment back when the house was built and accidentally included a huge chunk of the garage as livable space. Now we not only have the prospect of our pending sale falling through (bc we priced the house as though it were 2810), but also find we have overpaid property taxes by a total of $3k over the past 10 years. Of course, we also overpaid for the house by about $15k ten years ago, given that it was a much smaller house than either the previous owners or the county ever recognized.
We fought our tax assess and a few things the county had on file were wrong. We do not have a finished basement or working fireplace, but they said that stuff wouldnt have any bearing on the assessment, anyway.
Most of the conflicts I see are due to rooms below grade or unpermitted work done to the home.
It is quite common here for the builder to convey the house plans to the county, and then have the customer decide they want the attic or bonus room finished after all.
Change order never makes it to the county Revenue Department, but all construction is inspected as required.
One issue we had with county records is the builder had listed the house specs based on the model. We had things addded like a room over the garage (FROG). Later we were told if we added a closet to the room, we could call it a bedroom which we did when selling.
Bottom line was the county had us some 300sq ft less and as a 3 bedroom house (which became 4 with the closet added). It was all easily explainable and in the end, the buyer never asked about the differences.
There are different ways of counting square feet. That could account for the 100 sq ft difference, so I wouldn't raise an issue about that. I agree with the others about checking to determine whether the 3rd & 4th "bedrooms" meet the local standards for what constitutes a bedroom.
We're having the opposite problem. The county records have always indicated our house to be 2810 sq ft, and we have paid taxes on that amount for 10 years. Now we are going to sell and find that our house is only 2535 sq ft. Two different appraisers have measured and come within 50 feet of each other, both around 2500. It appears the county just did a "drive by" assessment back when the house was built and accidentally included a huge chunk of the garage as livable space. Now we not only have the prospect of our pending sale falling through (bc we priced the house as though it were 2810), but also find we have overpaid property taxes by a total of $3k over the past 10 years. Of course, we also overpaid for the house by about $15k ten years ago, given that it was a much smaller house than either the previous owners or the county ever recognized.
You MIGHT be entitled to a partial refund of your overpayment due to an administrative error. You must request a hearing (I think under Section 2525C of the Tax Code). You might try to find a good property tax consultant who will work with houses on a contingent fee basis.
I live in Texas, and am in the process of selling my home. The realtor showed up with her comps and yes, oh yes the tax records, which showed the home as a 3 bed 3.5 bath when it is actually a 4 bed 4 full bath with a den which can be considered a 5th bedroom. The room count is also way off. When she got here all she cared about was the square footage and showed me comps of other homes in my subdivision. She refused to acknowledge that half are on 65 foot lots, mine is 80 x 100 foot lot. She did not measure, or did not care at all it has 98, 354 documentable upgrades. All she kept repeated to the point I was totally annoyed was the square footage listed on the tax document. I was getting annoyed with her, she clearly saw the other rooms, and was the one who pointed out the den could actually be considered a 5th bedroom, but again, as we sat down to come up with a price she was hell bent on only using the square footage, which, I estimated was off by 480 square feet. Sorry, but at 120.00 a square foot that does make a huge difference. Her words were "this is the figure we use" period. (And I will not be using her as a realtor). I frankly think, some just want you to list it low so they can get a quick sale, but before she came out she ran the numbers and knew I would not even make enough to clear my mortgage. FYI, she wanted to price is 78,000 lower than the one directly across the street which sold 7 months ago when the market was lower than this. I found an article where a buyer bought a home, and after they had closed and moved in they found out the house was 250 square feet smaller. They sued, and won, and it was upheld the Supreme Court. My issues when I asked who I could pay to have it re-measured she just kept bringing up the bleeping tax records. So I guess the appraisal isn't worth anything is that is the number they choose to use.
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Tax Records
