Preparation guide
Property Records and Appraisal Preparation Guide
Six short steps. None of them are required before you call, but each one makes the conversation shorter and the assignment easier to scope. Work through as many as are practical for your situation and bring what you have.
1. Identify the parcel using official lookup tools
Start with the parcel, not the street address, because the parcel is what gets valued. Two official King County overview pages explain which tool does what.
Assessor: look up property information
The King County Assessor’s overview page links eReal Property, used to look up a property tax account or parcel, and eSales, used to search sales by property type.
Open the Assessor lookup pageGIS Center: property research
The King County GIS Center property research page describes Parcel Viewer and the eReal Property lookup, which can be searched by address, parcel or complex name.
Open the property research pageThese official resources support parcel identification and record lookup only. County assessment records are not an appraisal by this business, do not establish a current market value for your property, and do not answer boundary or title questions. Their contact details belong to the county, not to North Sound Valuation.
2. Compare recorded characteristics with what you know
Read the recorded record against your own knowledge of the house. Differences are common and useful; the point is to notice them now rather than mid-assignment.
- Living area and room count: does the recorded figure match the house you walk through?
- Year built, and the year of any addition recorded separately.
- Bedroom and bathroom counts, including whether a basement room is counted.
- Garage type and size, plus any carport, shop or detached structure.
- Lot size and any unusual site condition such as slope, easement or shared access.
- Anything recorded that no longer exists, or exists but is not recorded.
3. Gather prior photographs and renovation information
This step matters most when the effective date is in the past, because the condition of the home then has to be established from evidence rather than from today’s walkthrough.
- Photographs from around the effective date, including casual family phone photos.
- Prior listing photographs or a listing sheet if the home was ever marketed.
- Renovation list with approximate dates: roof, windows, siding, kitchen, baths, flooring.
- Mechanical replacements: furnace or heat pump, water heater, electrical panel, repipes.
- Permits for additions, finished basements, decks or accessory structures.
- Invoices or contractor summaries where you still have them.
4. Settle the intended user and the effective date
These two decisions shape the whole assignment, and getting them wrong is the usual reason a report turns out not to fit the purpose. If someone asked you for a valuation, ask them both questions directly and get the answers in writing where you can.
- Who will read and rely on the report — you, an attorney, an accountant, an institution?
- What decision or document it supports.
- Which effective date is required, and why that date was chosen.
- Whether the requesting party has any format or content requirements of their own.
- Whether more than one person needs to be named as an intended user.
5. Plan property access
Access is the single most common cause of delay, especially for vacant or inherited homes. Sorting it out before the call makes any timeline realistic.
- Who holds keys or codes, and whether they are local.
- Whether a tenant occupies the home and what notice is required.
- Access to the garage, crawlspace, attic hatch, electrical panel and heating equipment.
- Locked outbuildings, gates or shops that will need opening.
- Pets, alarm systems or anything else that affects an appointment.
- A second contact who can authorize access if you are unreachable.
6. Prepare the questions worth asking
- Is this assignment the right fit for what I have been asked to produce?
- What effective date will the report use, and does it match what was requested of me?
- Who will be named as the client and intended user?
- What scope of work does this situation actually require?
- What do you need from me, and what will slow things down if it is missing?
- What is your current availability relative to my deadline?
When you are ready, the contact page has the phone number and short preparation notes per service.
Work through it on the phone
Call to describe the property, the intended use and the date that matters. Scope of work and current availability are confirmed on the call.