Then they pay whatever amount over the $90 bill quarterly and you invoice them for water used.Both options ensures that the water bill is being paid by you so no liens are assessed and the tenant is responsible for their own water use.

How do I maximize what my home is assessed at?

At time of this access is when you assess the rehab amount.I have a feeling the sellers excuse for selling has nothing to do with a job transfer and everything to do with a problem tenant.

My total loan breakdown looks like this....Purchase Price $55,000Renovation Holdback $40,000 (the lender is over estimating based on their assessment of the reno)Total project cost $95,000ARV $128,000Term 9 monthsRate 10.5%Loan amount $79,170 (They roll the loan fees into the loan to be paid back at payoff)Loan to cost 80.65%My down payment is 20% of total loan, or $19,000Total due at closing will be $21,500Sorry that it's been a few more days than expected.

The tradeoff of potential assessments does not out weigh the benefits of not having to directly worry about roofs, foundations and outside items coupled with 20% cash on cash has my attention.

You can start with the delinquent property taxes and also if you need info with the records you can go to the recording, the assessment or appraisal department, maps or gis info, etc. 

County  tax assessor office assess the property based on purchase price.

My assumption is the city assessment stating it was '2.5 stories' simply took the building footprint and multiplied by 2.5.

Frankly this has been on of the most comprehensive and informative discussions I've read in years.  

That means find a house where there aren't going to be any hidden issues with very expensive things (i.e. foundation, roof, mechanicals), and get a good inspector to make sure they agree with your assessment before buying.