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We found a house we might want to put an offer in on....they are asking $263,900, but when we researched, the tax assesment (for land + house) is only for $161,000.
I know the seller can ask anything they want for the house...but does this mean that the owner is asking above what the home is worth?
What kind of an offer should we go in with?
The house is in good condition (move-in condition), it sits on 5.5 acres with a barn, about 4 acres is currently being farmed out. Taxes are $5500/yr,. house is a bi-level, 10 years old, central air, no pool....not sure if all this matters or not with an assesment. But we are confused on if we should even bother making an offer. If it's only worth $161 then I'm sure the owner won't come down that far.
So confused! this is our first house we are trying to buy!
You should make an offer based on the value presented by recently closed sales in the surrounding area, not based on tax valuation.
Tax assessments are widely recognized as not accurately reflecting market value.
Now, if the local comparable sales only support a $161,000 value, then the house would appear to be overpriced, but tax value is not the way to determine market value.
You should make an offer based on the value presented by recently closed sales in the surrounding area, not based on tax valuation.
Tax assessments are widely recognized as not accurately reflecting market value.
Now, if the local comparable sales only support a $161,000 value, then the house would appear to be overpriced, but tax value is not the way to determine market value.
How would we go about checking local closings? Is there a specific website we should be viewing?
How would we go about checking local closings? Is there a specific website we should be viewing?
2 excellent real estate sites are:
zillow.com
trulia.com
They will give you a detailed sales (closings) history of the property and properties in the area. In Zillow go the aerial view and simply zoom on the adjacent property of interest, click and it will give you the detailed info.
You could also check the county web site. Many counties post closing information on their website.
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Nothing will be as accurate as the MLS information a real estate agent can access.
YOu can play with the tax rolls, if you are in a disclosure state.
You can play with Zillow, but it is not any more accurate than tax assessments
Disagree.
The sales information in Zillow and Trulia is very accurate as it is downloaded from public records. There is a short lag time for closings to post to Zillow or Trulia, whereas info posts to MLS within hours. So, if you need real time info on closings within the past few weeks, you may need the assistance of a realtor.
Zillow gives you an estimate of the property value (called the Zestimate) and would agree that this # is not a reliable indicator of the homes value. In our area, the homes that I have looked at go about 10% over the Zestimate, but there is a wide range.
They will give you a detailed sales (closings) history of the property and properties in the area. In Zillow go the aerial view and simply zoom on the adjacent property of interest, click and it will give you the detailed info.
You could also check the county web site. Many counties post closing information on their website.
Disagree.
The sales information in Zillow and Trulia is very accurate as it is downloaded from public records. There is a short lag time for closings to post to Zillow or Trulia, whereas info posts to MLS within hours. So, if you need real time info on closings within the past few weeks, you may need the assistance of a realtor.
Zillow gives you an estimate of the property value (called the Zestimate) and would agree that this # is not a reliable indicator of the homes value. In our area, the homes that I have looked at go about 10% over the Zestimate, but there is a wide range.
You keep giving out information that is not correct. Many states like TX are non-Disclosure states and nowhere is the sales price of a home published. Zillow is usually so far off on the values of properties here that they are very well known as being a useless source of information.
Our county tax records can be as low as 30% low (or high) on values and that info is useless also. I fight my tax appraisals every year like many Texans and keep my value at least a large % below what I could sell the house.
More bad information above. Don't assume every state is just like what you are familiar in your state.
You keep giving out information that is not correct. Many states like TX are non-Disclosure states and nowhere is the sales price of a home published. Zillow is usually so far off on the values of properties here that they are very well known as being a useless source of information.
More bad information above. Don't assume every state is just like what you are familiar in your state.
Thx for clarifying the non disclosure issue in TX. Do Realtors have access to sales info in TX? How many states other than TX are non disclosure?
Even in non disclosure states, Zillow does provide detailed information on listing prices, time on market, price reduction and periods when the property was temporarily taken off the market. Information that used to be the sole domain of the RE agent. These sites are powerful tools for the public.
It is important to distinguish between "value" and the "sold" price. Agree that the estimated value on these sites (The Zestimate) is unreliable. However, I stand by my statement that the quoted "sold" price on Zillow is very accurate. If the property is in a non disclosure state like TX, the "sold" price will be $0.
Quote:
"You can play with Zillow, but it is not any more accurate than tax assessments."
It is misleading to the public for RE agents on this forum to say that these sites are inaccurate
Thx for clarifying the non disclosure issue in TX. Do Realtors have access to sales info in TX? How many states other than TX are non disclosure?
Even in non disclosure states, Zillow does provide detailed information on listing prices, time on market, price reduction and periods when the property was temporarily taken off the market. Information that used to be the sole domain of the RE agent. These sites are powerful tools for the public.
It is important to distinguish between "value" and the "sold" price. Agree that the estimated value on these sites (The Zestimate) is unreliable. However, I stand by my statement that the quoted "sold" price on Zillow is very accurate. If the property is in a non disclosure state like TX, the "sold" price will be $0.
It is misleading to the public for RE agents on this forum to say that these sites are inaccurate
Sorry, but Zillow and Trulia are rarely accurate when it comes to current assessments and taxes. For the area in which I am buying, they both report 2009/2010.. when the area already has 2012/13 assessments on the books.
Even in non disclosure states, Zillow does provide detailed information on listing prices, time on market, price reduction and periods when the property was temporarily taken off the market. Information that used to be the sole domain of the RE agent. These sites are powerful tools for the public.
Unless you're planning on buying that exact house, I wouldn't call listing price, DOM, or any of the other statistics you mentioned "powerful tools for the public." When I price a house or estimate its value I pay give little weight in my analysis to list prices whether the house is currently on the market or already sold. There was a house last year in my town that listed for $900K and was on the market for 10 days. When I tell you the house sold for $750K does that start looking like usefull or useless information? Sold data is the most important data.
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Originally Posted by RE Skeptic
It is important to distinguish between "value" and the "sold" price. Agree that the estimated value on these sites (The Zestimate) is unreliable. However, I stand by my statement that the quoted "sold" price on Zillow is very accurate. If the property is in a non disclosure state like TX, the "sold" price will be $0.
Misinformation. There is no difference between value and sales price. Tax assessment is different from sale price/value and Zestimate is some made up fantasy number. FYI . . . I just sold my personal residence for $328K and the Zestimate report email I got shortly after reported the Zestimate as somewhere in the neighborhood of $225K I believe. That's a pretty serious disconnect from reality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RE Skeptic
It is misleading to the public for RE agents on this forum to say that these sites are inaccurate
Zillow is very innaccurate in many ways. If you knew what the correct data was then you'd know why it was so innaccurate. It's not a powerful tool for consumers and it does them a disservice by presenting itself as such. What's even worse is when uneducated people get a hold of this informatino and don't have a clue how to use it. Always remember, you don't know what you don't know.
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