I recently came across a listing in our multiple listing service and noticed the taxes and assessment were from 2009. Current (2010) taxes and assessments have been available for quite some time now. Being in the business all these years, I can guess why an agent would think this is a good idea. It makes the asking price seem more appealing. The operative word here folks is "seem". If a property is showing an assessment of $605,400 and the asking price is only $539,900, a buyer would think, WOW! It's priced way below assessment. But the truth in this case, is that the price is really much closer to the true assessment of $549,700. I have to ask myself, does the buyer know the actual assessment of the property they are buying is $55,700 less than they thought? Do they realize their tax bill will be $6,343.54 instead of $6,260? It's certainly a case of caveat emptor and if that buyer doesn't know it by now, they will soon enough. One thing I know for sure, Windhill Advisors make sure the information they use to market our listings is accurate and current to the best of their ability. In my 20+ year real estate career one thing still holds true: honesty and integrity are always the best policy. That's why I work here at Windhill.
