The majority of towns in NJ do not update their assessed values every year.

Because I assess all the risks, and if I can't develop a mitigation and contingency plan to handle the risk, then I don't do the deal.

In that conversation, I expressed my assessment is that we are due for a recession - albeit our expectation is this next one will not be predominantly a real estate centric downturn.

Also, you can go to the city appraiser page and check the total taxable assessment value of the house, that is the sum of the land, structure, and taxes. that the value the city is giving the prop.

Some companies charge to come out for an assessment that becomes a credit if you hire them to remediate.You might be able to negotiate the price with the buyer as in, "Buyer agrees to accept the mold up to $300 in remediation cost to remediate." 

These are called “seasoning requirements”.Remember, it is the appraised value, not the assessed value that you want the refinance based on. 

Assessments (additional fees imposed by the HOA) are real and happen often.

The cap rate is more frequently used in this asset class than COCR to assess how good the deal is.

To support @Ben Leybovich's assessment of the Phoenix market, this article came out today hailing Phoenix as one of the top markets for real estate investors:http://click.inman.com/t/gcH1AAfbaBZ08QBK4pBJcBNIO...

They will likely use the last year's taxes and then when you get an added assessment or a new assessment they will up your escrow requirements.