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Ever checked the tax records SKETCH to see your home is the home measured? Huh?

We all know that tax assessor's records are so reliable.....HA! I had a fairly unique situation pop up today that I wanted to share......as it is quite rare, but if it happens to you, it can be devastating.

SCENARIO: The house is 12 years old and currently shows a square footage on the tax records of 2815 square feet.  Buyer 1 bought it with the tax record showing 3112 square feet; buyers 2, 3 and 4 at 2815 square feet.  So the appraisal comes in yesterday at 2575 square feet, which, of course, causes the appraisal to come in low.  The measurement has to be wrong, eh?

I know buyers 2, 3 and 4.  I ask each if they have appraisals of the home.  None do.  Hmmmmm.  Buyer 4 asks the bank for the appraisal and they refuse.  Hmmmm.  

So I get on the tax assessor's website and pull up the home and pull up the sketch of the home the tax assessor used to measure.  The sketch is is NOT the home that is being sold.  Hmmmmm.

Then I remember buyer #1.   The builder was going to build a spec home and buyer #1 wanted to change the plan, and the builder agreed and the new home was built.  You can probably guess what drawing is still on the tax records 12 years later.  Yes, the plan that the builder had originally planned to build.

We all need to remember the spelling of assume.  Ass U me.   We all pull up tax records to verify information, but how many pull up the sketch that the assessor used in making the square footage calculations.   Most agents would say "Is there a sketch on the tax records?".  I don't mean to be harsh about saying that, but it is AssUme d  that the square footage over a 12 year span had to have been corrected at some point, right?  Surely one of the 4 appraisals measured the home, right?  Surely the sketch has to be correct, right?  That is what I Ass U Me d.

We all have had square footage problems with relatively new homes from a builder's measurement to an assessor's measurement; but what are the odds that such a scenario would pop up where the floor plan measured is not the floor plan of the home.  Honestly, not that often; but one time will wake you up.  How long does it take to check the drawing?  One click and about 3-4 seconds to say "yep, that's the same plan".

You might want to pull up your own tax records and not only see if they have the correct plan, but even check the calculations of the measurements.  Odds are pretty fair that there is an error in the calculations.  For my seller, I told them that there is a tiny bit of good news as you can go back and get rebated on your tax differential over the past two years.  I had one client with an 800 square foot area error.  At 4000sf, not 4800sf at $270/sf at a 2% tax rate, they got a pretty sizable refund.

God willing we will make this work by day's end and make it a win win for all; but I thought it would be a nice lesson to share to all........

Have a blessed day.....
Posted Friday Oct 16