Assessed value as proxy for Market Value?

[Tushar Shah]

Hello BP!!

Should one look at assessed value for tax purposes on government website as proxy for fair value. The property I am looking has a listing price of over half a million, however, the on governments website - the assessed value is only 260K - I understand that market value for tax purposes may not be very recent - but does one see such large differences and should the market value assessed for tax purposes should be a guide for fair market value?

[Andrew Johnson]

Tushar Shah What is mean is that if the listing says the property is 3,000 sq ft and the assessors records say 2,800 then I would want to know which was right. Was there an illegal addition? An attic conversion? Since a lot of people use per-square-foot prices to value non-commercial property I like to ensure accuracy. Not all square feet are created equal but that's another story.