@Tyana Everett Philadelphia property information, including taxes, owners, assessed value of home can be found on the Board of Revision of Taxes. 

I and I'd bet the guys above use all three approaches, and, the purpose of the valuation also matters, why and what kind of assessment is required..... the purpose of the appraisal. 

I'm just saying he does have the right to enter by giving 24hr notice of entry/inspection...I would use this simply to be able to better assess the property so you can start estimating any repairs/cleanup.

You're not looking at ROI or cash flow versus the unexpected assessments.  

http://sdat.resiusa.org/RealProperty/Pages/default...state assessment site.... baltimore city takes a little while to record sales!

I realize that San Diego is not ideal for starting out, and I don't have very deep pockets but trying to do a pros/cons and assessment of my options:Here's what I've come up with:1.

If they refuse to pay and I refuse to pay will it somehow come back to me as an assessment etc? 

I want to share this new website that is currently in the beginning stages.Create is a website that pools together data from local government codes, tax assessments, surveys, and planning.

My numbers above are based on the tax assessment, which isn't perfect but doesn't materially steer the scope of the conversation. 1/2 acre lots in prime areas are in the 400-600K range (maybe 1.5-3M on the water), many of these have 1930's houses on them that might appraise at $200K. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that skilled contractors should be spending more time on the job as John mentioned and not at Home Depot each looking for materials they should already have after doing a good assessment on the job scope.I don't necessarily suggest paying top dollar for extremely high end work in a low end area, I just don't think it is smart to go out of our way to underpay.