# Home Values: How accurate is qpublic



## SpotandStalk (Sep 9, 2014)

I'm in the market to buy my 1st home but have no clue as to what to start an offer at. How accurate are the home values on qpublic?


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## merc123 (Sep 9, 2014)

I believe they are straight off the tax records.  Mine shows to the penny as my last tax bill

I prefer binary us but it doesn't have all the counties. 

Google this:

 site:binarybus.com county  <---- replace with the county you need


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## jimbo4116 (Sep 10, 2014)

qPublic just gives the tax assessors value for property taxes.  Most time the valuations are low.  It is not an appraisal.  They have never been in the home, just a ride by and take a photo.

They had my house listed as a one story at 1600 sq. feet, 3br/1.5bth.  10 years later I cut down a tree in the backyard and the ride by appraisers discovered there was an upstairs.  Now the got it listed as 3br/2.5bth at 2200 feet.  Its 4 br/2.5bth and 2600 feet.  

The tax value on qPublic is still about 40% below market value.

Now you can look at the previous sales of the home and others in the neighborhood to get an idea of the market in that area.  Should be listed on the bottom of the card.
Use the map to bring up the adjacent properties and others in the neighborhood.


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## ryanh487 (Sep 10, 2014)

Zillow is a reasonable place to check, and it will list all the historical sales prices of the home.  You can also check the same for the surrounding houses and other houses in the area with similar features.  If a home is for sale, it will show it's listing price alongside the "Zestimate".  Any not for sale homes in the area will just show the Zestimate along with historical sales prices for the home.


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## Sargent (Sep 10, 2014)

ryanh487 said:


> Zillow is a reasonable place to check, and it will list all the historical sales prices of the home.  You can also check the same for the surrounding houses and other houses in the area with similar features.  If a home is for sale, it will show it's listing price alongside the "Zestimate".  Any not for sale homes in the area will just show the Zestimate along with historical sales prices for the home.



In general, Zillow's Zestimate Zucks. 

In a home with cookie-cutter homes they may value the first 4 on a street at $200K and the fifth one will come in at $150K.  They are a lot better than they used to be, but they do have a consistency  problem.


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## ryanh487 (Sep 10, 2014)

Sargent said:


> In general, Zillow's Zestimate Zucks.
> 
> In a home with cookie-cutter homes they may value the first 4 on a street at $200K and the fifth one will come in at $150K.  They are a lot better than they used to be, but they do have a consistency  problem.



the Zestimate may suck, but the historical sales prices are helpful, as are the list prices. Trulia is another site that will provide estimates and more details about the interior, as well as sales prices.  I wouldn't trust any website for an accurate ESTIMATE, but seeing the previous sales prices compared to current ones are helpful.


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## westcobbdog (Sep 11, 2014)

SpotandStalk said:


> I'm in the market to buy my 1st home but have no clue as to what to start an offer at. How accurate are the home values on qpublic?



not accurate...qpublic, zillow,et al...consult a Realtor to figure that out. If I rep the buyer I always start with asking the Listing broker, how did you come up with the price? Some use science and are quickly able to explain themselves...some respond with "I told the seller it should be around X amount, but the seller insisted on listing it at the amount their cousin sold their home for 6 miles away and 4 months ago".

 If you are in metro Atl I can help with a number, just pm me the subject property and your thoughts.

# always write an appraisal contingency into every purchase, regardless if you feel the price is accurate or not. I encounter issues monthly were I show 42 houses in a small area to a buyer, we settle on one, get it under contract for say 200k, then the appraiser from 60 miles and 5 counties away shows up to hopefully agree with our price, but doesn't go inside the other 41 houses, just the 42nd home..


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## MTMiller (Sep 11, 2014)

ask your realtor to run a CMA - comparitive market analysis.  That will give you actual recent sales.  Put an appraisal contigency in your contract to protect yourself if possible.  This basically says the appraisal will come back equal or greater than the contract price or you have rights to recend your offer.


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## SpotandStalk (Sep 14, 2014)

westcobbdog said:


> not accurate...qpublic, zillow,et al...consult a Realtor to figure that out. If I rep the buyer I always start with asking the Listing broker, how did you come up with the price? Some use science and are quickly able to explain themselves...some respond with "I told the seller it should be around X amount, but the seller insisted on listing it at the amount their cousin sold their home for 6 miles away and 4 months ago".
> 
> If you are in metro Atl I can help with a number, just pm me the subject property and your thoughts.
> 
> # always write an appraisal contingency into every purchase, regardless if you feel the price is accurate or not. I encounter issues monthly were I show 42 houses in a small area to a buyer, we settle on one, get it under contract for say 200k, then the appraiser from 60 miles and 5 counties away shows up to hopefully agree with our price, but doesn't go inside the other 41 houses, just the 42nd home..



The house is in south Ga. An appraisal contingency will definitely be in the contract.




Thanks for everyones input.


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## elfiii (Sep 15, 2014)

jimbo4116 said:


> Now you can look at the previous sales of the home and others in the neighborhood to get an idea of the market in that area.  Should be listed on the bottom of the card.
> Use the map to bring up the adjacent properties and others in the neighborhood.



There you go.


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## NOYDB (Sep 16, 2014)

FYI a realtor,including, any driving you around owes by law 
(in FL at least) their allegiance to the seller of the house/property.You can have a buyer's agent that works for you. They can pull all the paper work and advise you how to save money or make sure all is complete

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/agency1.asp

If it's all "greek" to you, may want to engage a buyers agent.


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## rayjay (Sep 16, 2014)

Make use of the county's GIS system. You will get to see the changes in the tax appraisal over a period of years. Look at neighboring property appraisals and look for uniformity and any that are artificially low or high. See who has successfully appealed their county appraisal. See which houses which list owner's address as different from the property's address [ aka rental homes ]. 

Go ride around the area. See how the people keep their property up, pride of ownership. Look for junk collectors, etc. If you are gregarious knock on some doors and tell them you are thinking about moving into the neighborhood. See what kind of responses you get.

Home ownership is undergoing a metamorphosis and it's not really for the better. Where I live the number of rental properties is rising and the demographics are changing dramatically. Gwinnett is the next Dekalb. The next era of white flight has begun but the county gooberment and the appraisal bureaucrats ain't got the message or at least they are not admitting it. When you read newspaper articles proclaiming that Gwinnett school enrollment is now majority minority that directly reflects the makeup of the residents, not just the schools.

 All this matters.

There is no perfect home ownership situation and even if there was it could change at anytime.


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## mickbear (Sep 16, 2014)

SpotandStalk said:


> I'm in the market to buy my 1st home but have no clue as to what to start an offer at. How accurate are the home values on qpublic?


one thing you need to do ,be sure you go to what ever property you are looking at during all times of the day and weekends. you never know what goes on around there after hours or on weekend days and nights. i'v been about to buy a property and decided to go back on a weekend afternoon and found the place entirely different than during a week day.


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## The Longhunter (Sep 16, 2014)

mickbear said:


> one thing you need to do ,be sure you go to what ever property you are looking at during all times of the day and weekends. you never know what goes on around there after hours or on weekend days and nights. i'v been about to buy a property and decided to go back on a weekend afternoon and found the place entirely different than during a week day.



That's some REALLY good advice there.

I always advise potential TENANTS to check out the property at 10 pm.


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