In varying parts of the US, I don’t use the County
Tax Assessor value as the rule for the real value of
a property. Your area might be different.
For example: I live in Orange County, CA. Because of
Proposition 13, the last time the tax assessor could
have valued a property would have been who knows
when. We have million dollar properties assessed at
50% of their value for example. Wow!
In Dallas, where I used to live, the Tax Assesor was
right on. That was the rule of thumb for the current
market and economy there.
But, all-in-all, I’d suggest for you to get comps for
your area. Sold comps in the last 6 months is the
starting point. You can ask a realtor, or drive
around your neighborhoods pulling flyers until you
get used to the area values.
I looked up a property’s tax information on the internet today and the gave me a assessed value of $61000 and a market value of $72000. so would that be the accuall FMV of the property? It seems in my county they must appraise the propery. Thanks Dave
There is little correleation between assessed values and market values. Assessment offices use mass appraisal techniques that are not very accurate and in some municipalities it may have been years since assessments have been updated. Over time residential properties and commercial properties appreciate at different rates and typically residential properties become under-assessed and older commercial properties can become over-assessed, depending on the market. There are appraisers and consulting firms out there that make a nice living appealing taxes on commercial properties on behalf of the property owners. Also (more-so with residential properties) there may be additions or renovations or demolition that was not picked up by the assessment office (no permits pulled). Stick with actual sales information.