County Appraisal District

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County Appraisal District

Jeff Green
Coldspring, TX · Member since 2014 · 25 posts · 13 votes

How does the 'market value' on the CAD usually compare with the actual comps on a property? If there aren't any good comps in that area could I make an offer using the CAD market value? In the area I work in I drive by this abandoned little brick house that has "wholesale me" written all over it. I walked around back and looked through the back door and saw holes all in the walls so it will definitely need some work but the outside looks workable with some TLC. The CAD has a 47k market value from 2013, 59k from 2012. There were no neighbors around to ask about it. There is a lock box on the door so i'm not sure if that means the bank has it or what. No 'for sale' signs or anything. The CAD shows "deceased estate of John Doe", C/O Jane Smith, 123 BFE RD, BFE Georgia. When I saw the out of state address I was really getting my hopes up for a motivated seller but I've been on a couple of different search sites and cannot locate this name/address. Anyone have any suggestions on how I could find this person? Tax office maybe?

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  • Rick H.
    Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y

    We use a term known as a County Tax Assessor's Assessed Value, but call it what you will, your local taxing authority will rarely be so responsive as to value a property at the current market, unless your market is really static.

    Regardless of the assessor's opinion of value, you really want to know what you could sell something for before you'll know what you can justify paying for it. And then there's the issue of condition and estimating the cost of repairs.

    So, before I'd going looking for heirs or a personal representative of an estate, I'd encourage you to determine what the property might be worth to you. I'd also check to see what liens or mortgages are recorded on the property so you'll have an estimate of the current equity.

    You ought to check local probate court and determine if your 'Jane Smith' has opened a probate. If so, as a public record you might find Jane's contact info in the file. Also, check the owner if record's death certificate for next of kin. You can also check obits from the time of death which might reveal family.

    The biggest issue with these vacant properties is that people fail to perform much basic research about the equity and want to just dig into finding family first. Confirm there's the possibility of a deal then post another thread if needed about skip tracing your people. Orphan houses do have a way of calling to people like moths to flames. Whether roadside sirens or attractive nuisances, qualify before chasing.

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