We agreed on a little more than the city assessed value, for price.

Some company I was referred to sells them for almost every county that’s online and the prices were between $300 for 30 days which included the address and assessed value and went up to $450 for 90 days.They had an option to add Zillow values to the sheet as well. 

(On another note I assume you mean assessed and not appraised.

One special assessment can wipe out months or years of cash flow.

No mistake was made in selection of the toilet, it was just a newer model of the old toilet that was there before, perfectly compatible without going into extensive plumbing.

There is decent equity in the house: $125k or so on the mortgage and current assessment around $420K.

I know there is plenty of gray areas but a direct assessment from someone who has done both ways would be appreciated,thanks.

To be honest, you are unlikely to get an accurate assessment of a property without looking at it or having someone physically check it out on your behalf.

Assessed value is usually much lower than appraised value. 

I agree with your assessment of the "desirable" areas in SA.