What does my county assesors value actually mean?

Question

Hey everyone,There has been this vacant SF house on my street for the last year and it is now finally listed for sale. I believe it is a foreclosure but am not 100% sure (any help on how to figure this out would be great). It is listed at $165,000. So here is where my question comes in. I pulled up the property on my county assessor's website and it says that the "Roll year 2017 assessed value" of the land plus improvements equals about 108,000. Does that mean that in its current condition, that is all the property should be worth? Which would make the asking price of $165k way too much. Or does that assessed value not have anything to do with what the property should be purchased or sold for? And if not, when and what should these county assessments be used for? Also, the property is in pretty heavy disrepair and would need a good deal of work to become rent ready. Thanks!

Andrew Johnson · Answer

@Robert Ferrell I'd trust a Zestimate more than I'd trust the assessed value.  And I wouldn't trust a Zestimate :-)

Robert Ferrell · Answer

@Andrew Johnson Haha, good to know! Thanks for the info.

Robert Ferrell · Answer

@Brian Pulaski Hey, thanks for the reply! So it would be better to use an appraisal or to check comps in order to better determine the ARV? Also, generally how far should my range be when looking at comps?

Jon Holdman · Answer

The tax assessors value is the number that gets multiplied by the tax rate to determine the property taxes.  Nothing more.  It has, at best, a loose relationship with the actual value.  They often lag.  They are set broadly, not by looking at each individual property.

Brian Pulaski · Answer

Don't pay much attention to an assessment. It is a percentage (usually 70%, but I'm not sure if that's universal) of the house "value" based on what the town determines. It is used for taxing. It may be close, but I wouldn't use it as an actual value. Run your numbers based on comparable sold homes nearby.

What does my county assesors value actually mean?

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