Have you checked the Oklahoma County web page lately? There is a link in the left-hand column for Sheriff Sales. So, I clicked it.

The next page either lets you print a complete listing of scheduled Sheiff’s Sales or view them online organized by sale date. I took a look at the April 5, 2007 docket. I could scroll down the page and view the property address, attorney information, case number and Sheriff’s appraised value. Beneath that was what looked like a blank space for Assessed value and another for taxes. These aren’t blanks. They are hot links to the Assessor’s property card and tax payment history for the property.

So, very quickly you can tell the square footage, pull comparable sales figures, check the recent sales history, year of construction and frequently view a picture of the property.

So, did I see anything interesting? I thought you would never ask.

One of the first things that I noticed is that the Sheriff’s appraisal is frequently coming in below (in some cases significantly below) the assessed value. Second, want a house in Quail Creek? How about Nichols Hills or Val Verde? They’re there. There is actually one house with an assessed value in excess of 1/2 a mill. Now, the County has it appraised for less. If it sells for opening bid many thousands of square feet of excess can be yours for as little as $320,000.

I was having so much fun I thought I would print off the listings. So, I hit the print button. Then, the phone rang; and I was distracted temporarily by this thing called work. When I turned back around the printer was still going. Fifty pages later it stopped. Those are the next three sales dockets, and there are generally six listings per page.

I think I had better get back to work.

Elaine