Purchasing a home with a low assessment from the town

The assessed tax value is almost always lower than the market sales price. I see a lot of home sales where the town's assessed value is sometimes half of what the list price of a home.

Some towns, like Boston, will immediately increase the new homeowner's assessed value (and tax bill) to what recorded sales price. Other towns are more forgiving. The important thing is that, when you see this, to call the town's assessor's office and ask what they do when homes sell for considerably more than their assessed values.