Local Resources Just a Click or Call Way
Ever wondered what resources are available at City Hall? Here’s your change to take a tour of the local real estate assessor’s office with a focus on resources available to businesses, home owners, and professionals who work in the field of real estate (i.e., appraisers, lenders, real estate agents, real estate brokers, surveyors, title insurers, etc.).
You won’t know what you are missing out on unless you have an idea of what’s available. Part 1 will describe the basic assessment records available in the typical real estate assessor’s office and future articles in this series will outline various reports and specialty information that many assessors may have available.
Basic Assessment Records
Property record cards - Also known as appraisal cards, assessor cards, or sheets, they show land size, the year any structures were built, and property characteristics like square feet of living area, number of bathrooms, finished basement area, decks, garage, etc.
Tax assessment maps - A detailed graphic representation of each parcel of land in the city or county that shows assigned lot numbers that correspond to assessed parcel numbers or unique parcel identifiers assigned by the assessor. Some tax maps are part of, or layer in, a city or countywide geographic information system (GIS).
Photographs of assessed properties – Photographs can be useful to get a general idea of a property and for quick recognition. Photographs can be very useful for insurance purposes or where historic preservation boards need to know the original condition of damaged property.
History of individual property ownership – Most assessment records show the last three to seven owners of each assessed property. While these records vary by the number of ownership transfers shown and the detail of transfer information (date of sale, amount, name of seller, name of buyer, and transfer document number are typical) if additional records have to accessed at the local deed office, the assessors record of the oldest noted ownership record can give you a great starting point.
Comparable sales information – The comparable sales file includes sales during the current year and in many cases up to a 10 to 15 year history. The unique feature about the comparable sales file maintained by the assessor’s office is that it includes all sales, not just those listed in a local multiple listings service (MLS) and they can typically be researched farther back than online services. Being able to access sales in earlier years is very useful when appraising values for inheritance or estate purposes when the date of death is used.
Subdivision plats – Subdivision plats are originally used by assessor in developing or updating tax assessment maps and recording the lot sizes for each property in the subdivision. These plats are useful to property owners and those who work in the real estate field to establish lot lines for various reasons like getting home owner association (HOA) approval to install an invisible fence.
Real property classification guide - Assessors assign classifications to properties (agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, etc., and even into sub-classification like single-family detached homes, townhomes, condominiums, etc.) for purposes of grouping them together for study purposes, reporting value changes, or as required for assessment equalization. In some states, where property taxes vary by class of property or where equalized values are determined for each class of property, property owners can challenge the classification of their property.
This list by no means exhausts the full range of resources available at your local assessor’s office. Not all records may be available from every local real estate assessor’s office or in the manner described. The intent is to give you an idea of what can be available from your local assessor if you know what to ask for or how to describe its function.
Watch for Part 2 in this series for my article that will name reports and specialty information that many real estate assessors may have available to the general public.
