The Assessment Roll

The Assessment Roll is the public record (database) that lists every single piece of property in the county.For every parcel number, the roll lists:The Owner's Name: Who is responsible for the bill?The Address of Record: Where should the bill be mailed? (Note: This might be different from the physical property address if the owner lives out of state).The Assessed Value: What does the county think the land and the structures (houses/buildings) are worth for tax purposes?Why do you care? Before you list a home, the very first thing you will do is look up the property on the Property Appraiser's website (which displays the Assessment Roll data).It tells you if the person claiming to be the seller actually owns the house.It tells you what the current property taxes are so you can estimate costs for your buyer.If a client calls you and says, "I want to sell my rental house at 123 Main St," but you look up the address in the Assessment Roll and see the owner is listed as "Smith Family Trust," you know immediately that you need to find out who is the Trustee of that trust. You can't just have "Mr. Smith" sign the contract if the legal owner is a Trust! The Assessment Roll saves you from making rookie mistakes.