TAX Assessed value?

Well you would think so. Personally I think the assessed value is based on how much money the city needs at the time. When my assessment arrives every year I appeal it every time. I have knocked hundreds of dollars off my monthly payments.
To answer your question..... I pay no attention to an assessment that others have arrived at.

there is suppose to be a linkage in the tax value to the actual value. However, in reality, government is ill-equipped to do the proper appraisals for homes so they estimated it and often get it wrong. Use the tax value number as a guide compared to previous years to see the macro changes of the neighborhood only.

Doing true comparative analysis is the only way to see the possible value of a home.

No, the tax appraised value is often not lower than the actual value; It is higher, because the county wants to collect as much taxes as possible. They don't care what the house is really worth. They care about how much taxes they can collect.

The loan value is 80%, sometimes, of the tax appraised value. I think you're saying it backwards.

You're confusing loan value with tax appraised value. Banks typically lend 80% of what the tax appraised value.

I'm with Trustpoint on this one, although one can have an independent appraisal done for the own knowledge, altough it won't have anything to do with lending. I think that the tax assessed value (or tax appraised value). The tax appraised value usually has a lot more to do with the amount of taxes that the county needs to collect more so than the amount of money that you need to collect or borrow as an investor. Banks and other lenders often go by the appraised value to determine what is lent, but then they lend less than that. But, thn that value versus the value that you or other people place on the property is usually quite different.

Where I'm at, the city strattles a county line. In the Northern county, the appraised values aren't as high, although a lot of the properties are older and more run down, so they're still may be high.

In the Southern county, all appraised values are higher, because that county is more greedy, and I would say that at least 50% of the properties are indeed a higher value. But, then again, the neighborhoods, location, schools, resell values, etc. are higher, so one gets what they pay for (so far as what tax rate and county they choose).

Ultimately, the only "value" that really matters with any property is what a buyer places on it...what they are willing to pay.

Sellers often place a higher value on their homes than a buyer will, especially if it's their primary residence. It's their home, not just a structure or an investment. They have an emotional attachment to it that's often blinding. They raise their kids there. They pay a monthly payment on it, etc. They pray there, and the home is actually part of their identity.

How does one appraise that

? Until they become distressed or find out what someone is actually willing to pay for the property, they usually over price it.

Investors who are trying to flip a house must be very careful not to make that mistake and disregard emotional attachment once they're the owner. When it's time to resell the property, they should put what's called a soft price on the house so it will sell quickly. If you only paid $20,000 for a house at a tax sale, etc., don't try to resell it for $190,000, even if that's what the tax appraised value is. Sell it quickly, say at $150,000, and move on to your next project. You're still going to make $130,000 minus your interim costs.

Finally, let me say that there are tax appraisals (usually high), other appraisals (more reasonable) and the actually sells price (what someone is willing to pay). The tax appraisal really isn't all of that important, unless one is seeking out a loan. One should have another appraisal (sometimes in conjuction with an inspection) and a CMA, and then sell a little bit lower than that for a quick sale.

For everyone that is questioning The tax value. The county has a budget they need to provide the services for. That is then divided to come up with a dollar amount that they need to charge per $1,000.00 . So what ever your property is appraised at is what they base your tax on. If their amount is $42 per $1,000 and your property is appraised at $100,000.00 you will be assessed at $100,000.00 and you will pay $4,200.00 per year.

A lot of the time they get their asset value from what the property last sold for. That is why you pay county processing fees at closing.

Masseur07 You are right about that.

For the county I live in, the newer the home the closer the tax assessment and FMV are. As homes get older, there begins to be a spread between the numbers. For instance, a home built in 1987: Since being built, there was a major addition to the home (added about 1000 sqft to the living space and added a huge garage). It is currently assessed at $132,200 (It's prior value was about $127,000 before the addition. It was just appraised for $280,000 about 6 months ago.

If I see a home that is at least 20 years old and the list price is close to or below it's assessment value, it's a good deal.

In the next county over, their assessment values are even more off. They are gearing up for a re-assessment project and people aren't happy!

So it depends on where you live - there's probably a general trend you can see if you look at the data.