Ava
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Post by Ava on Dec 9, 2012 1:04:18 GMT -5
I received a letter today from the city where I live. It turns out my condo is going down in value; way down. The letter says it was last assessed at $43,000 in October 2011. Now, it's valued at $24,500. I bought this condo in 2008, for $65,000. I owe $61,000 on it. It's a nice condo; in good shape, big, comfortable, it has a garage, washer and drier, dishwasher. It's in a bad area in a very poor city. Actually, the area is incredibly quiet and safe. But I am mostly surrounded by multi-family houses. Lots of renters, section 8, schools with low graduation rates, etc. When I go to the supermarket, I will say about 90% of the time the person in front of me pays with that grey food assistance card. There is some drug activity in the area, not much but some. It's never become violent, though. I don't know if any of that has anything to do with the loss in value of my condo. The area was already like that when I moved in. It worries me. I am planning to move in the near future; say 12 to 18 months from now. My idea is to rent the condo, since selling would be impossible. But, still. Getting the letter was an eye opener, and it really worries me. I would say on the positive side it looks like they are going to reduce my taxes. I don't know what to think. The letter said no action is required on my part. I guess mostly I feel like I've been kind of deceived. It was hard for me to do this; save money, go through the paperwork, go out and choose a condo, move, etc. I did it all on my own. I never expected my home to be a money-maker. But I didn't expect something like this, either.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2012 2:11:16 GMT -5
Assessed value around here has nothing to do with what places actually sell for...?
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Dec 9, 2012 3:17:17 GMT -5
In our city, assessment determines the price of a house when it's a buyers market. When it's a sellers market-the only thing that determines the price of a house is the buyer's emotions.
I think part of it is that your condo got caught up in the real estate bubble, like everything else. Market swings hit condos faster than they do SFHs. Real estate was still priced rather high in 2008, compared to now. In 2008, condos in our old complex were assessed for 110-130. They are now assessed at 83K. Our condo complex was also in an area of multifamily houses, with lots of renters, etc. The largest coke bust in our county happened a few blocks from our house. We also did have a mother/daughter get killed by the father of the child within a few blocks of our house. But, that kind of violence isn't particularly typical in our metro area, period.
I wished we could have kept the condo and rented it out. We could have made $200 or so a month after expenses renting to a grad student or young person starting out.
I'm sorry you feel deceived. At least in our neck of the woods, in 2008, the housing market was still rather strong. It didn't take a dive until 2009, and it's continued to dive ever since.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2012 7:36:54 GMT -5
You paid what you paid at the time. Nobody can control the market. So, now you just keep it in the best shape possible and you sell for whatever you can sell fro whenever you need to sell it. That is a bummer but you really can't change what is. Just keep it as appealing as you can.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Dec 9, 2012 10:16:03 GMT -5
I wouldn't put too much stock into it. Our assessed value is about 25% less than the appraisal we had done in 2011 and about 40% less than the sale price of similar houses in the area. But it means we pay fewer taxes, so I'm all for it. To get a better idea of your condo's potential sale price, check recent sales in the area on Zillow or Trulia. I'm betting you can get more than the appraised value out of your place when you choose to sell.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Dec 9, 2012 10:23:36 GMT -5
I wouldn't be concerned either. Assessed values for taxes are much lower than what you can actually get in the market here.... Better assessed too low, than too high.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2012 10:33:28 GMT -5
Assessed vs market depends on the area- in our area they show how the assessed value is calculated and they base it off recent nearby sales, plus adjustments for differences in square footage and other features, between your house and that house that sold.
I agree, though, that not all tax assessment values are a valid measure of market value. ava, one concern I'd have about renting it out is finding a good tenant in that area. Do research values on the sites others have mentioned, though. It's possible that the tax value os way off.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Dec 9, 2012 10:55:02 GMT -5
This past summer, an appraiser came by because I refinanced the condo (from 6.875% to 4.5%). She valued it at $49,900. Maybe that's more accurate? I don't intend to sell in the foreseeable future, just to rent it out. I contacted a management company and they were very interested. They would take care of everything regarding tenants, including screening people. Well, I feel more reassured now that you guys tell me the town's assessment is not that important. Like I said, on the positive side, it looks like my taxes are going down.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2012 11:17:02 GMT -5
Appraisals are more consistently accurate than assessed value, although it doesn't seem like yours are far off.
For instance, we paid 95k ten years ago, when we put stone on the house, I got a letter raising our assessment... From the range of 23k to 25k ... Last appraisal was 145k. I don't know why they are so far off?
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