help! i'm trying to help the gf put together an offer for a house she's looking at. it's probably a flip gone awry - seller bought it over two years ago at a low price, and has had it on the market for 2 months. price has been slashed by a total of ~10% over the last month. i looked up the tax appraisal value online, and found that it's far below the current selling price. my question to any experienced buyers out there: is the tax appraisal value a good number to open an offer with? in this case, the tax appraisal value is 75% of the current selling price. i'm not sure if that figure matters at all, but any tips are welcome. thanks much in advance!!!
Appraisals for tax purposes have zero credibility when it comes to establishing the FMV of property. Pay no attention to it at all.
the real estate agent should have a list of homes in the area and what they are asking for or what they have sold for in the last 2 years. That is also a good indicator of what the house your looking for is worth. The comp sheet is what my real estate agent called it.
fantastic. thanks for the quick feedback. i ask because of a show i was watching, where they had an appraiser visit a house, and they noted that often times a lender would refuse to loan if the appraised value was less than the selling price - i didn't think that this appraisal would be the same as a tax appraisal, so thanks for the confirmation, joe... and plc, we'll request comps - thanks
Whoever does your loan, will order an appraisal on the property to see if it's worth lending. If they appraise the property for a lower amount, they will only lend that amount that they appraised it at. The tax appraisal is something totally different. Are you working with a Real Estate agent? Is the property in Houston?
