Am I being nickle and dimed or is this a good deal?

[Edward Robinson]

Hey BiggerPockets, I could really use some help here with a property I put an offer on.

I put in a cash offer of 11,000 firm for a duplex that has an ARV of around 70,000 that will need about 40,000 of work and each side could rent for about 750 a month. The seller countered at 12,500 and I reminded them that I'm firm at 11,000. The seller then came back at 12,000 and wont accept less as they thought they could get 25,000 for the property and feel they're being more than reasonable.

At this point, the real estate agent we're both working through brought up that the Tax Assessed Value of the property is 47,800 and told me I would be getting instant equity at 12,000 and could pull some of that out to fund the rehad. I hadn't heard anything about the tax assessed value before and wasn't sure if that is what the home is actually worth? The problem I have is that this property is most definitely not worth 47,800. It hasnt been occupied in 25 years, has a damaged foundation, needs a new roof, needs electrical updated along with the central air units and furnace.

I guess my question is, is the tax assessed value the value I could borrow against or is it only used for tax purposes? Also, any advice on whether this is a good deal would be appreciated. This would be a buy and hold property.

[JD Martin]

1. If $1k makes or breaks a deal it's already on the bubble. 

2. If they could get $25k from someone else they wouldn't take $12k from you.

3. It sounds like it needs more than $40k worth of work based on your description.

4. No, you cannot borrow against tax value. You can only borrow against market value, which is going to be calculated by an appraiser (or sometimes the bank if they desktop appraise).