1315 N Cathy Ave

Run June 11, 2026 · rate 6.52% (Freddie Mac 6/11/2026; Bankrate 6.55%, MND 6.60%, NerdWallet 6.45% — range 6.45–6.60%)

Listing facts

• ~$333/sqft
• AC, attached garage (~441 sqft), covered patio. (Beds/baths/sqft confirmed against the county Characteristics record below.)

County record — Ada County Assessor (the truth)

• List price is ~$65k (≈19%) ABOVE assessed value. Big gap — Meridian list prices run hot vs. assessor; no equity cushion at purchase, priced well over the county’s market read.

Note the 2022 spike to $407k then a pullback — Treasure Valley values overshot in 2022 and the assessor walked them back. Up ~62% since 2019 overall; budget for continued upward drift.

The homeowner’s exemption is ALREADY in this bill (owner-occupied individual). The 2025 bill of $1,502.60 on $333,400 assessed is only ~0.45% effective — far below the ~0.9% Boise norm. Meridian (Tax Code Area 03) residential bills run materially cheaper than Boise’s, and Idaho’s state-funded Homeowner’s Tax Relief has been suppressing owner-occupied bills further (note the bill has actually fallen 2022→2025 even as assessed value rose). Do NOT assume Boise’s ~0.9% here — derived from the actual record, the owner-occupied effective rate is ~0.45–0.50% of assessed value.

Eric’s owner-occupant tax estimate (2026): the current owner already pays the exempted rate, so Eric inherits roughly the same bill — call it ~$1,650/yr ≈ ~$138/mo (2025’s $1,502 nudged up for 2026 assessed drift; conservative). Still: FILE FOR THE EXEMPTION after closing — it does NOT transfer with the sale, and at this assessed value an un-exempted bill would be roughly double.

Affordability — VERDICT: FITS $2,500 at clean 20% down

20% down (no PMI)

• 20% down = $82,000 → loan $328,000
• P&I at 6.52%: ~$2,078/mo
• Property tax (exemption applied): ~$138/mo
• Insurance: ~$115/mo
• HOA: $0 (none found)
• PMI: $0
• All-in: ~$2,330/mo → ~$170/mo UNDER the $2,500 target. ✓

Cash: $82,000 down + ~$12,300 closing (3%) ≈ $94,300 — inside the $105k fund, leaving ~$10,700 of cushion. Both tests clear.

Flags

• Listed ~19% over assessed value ($410k list vs. $344.8k assessed) — the single biggest flag. Meridian listings run hot, but this is a wide gap with zero equity cushion at purchase. Push hard on comps / a price nudge toward the high-$300s.
• Cheap, exemption-adjusted tax (~$138/mo) is a genuine plus — Meridian Tax Code Area 03 runs well below Boise. But that low rate leans partly on Idaho’s state Homeowner’s Tax Relief credit, which is policy-dependent; don’t bank on it staying this low forever.
• No exemption upside to capture — the current bill is already exempted (owner-occupied), so there’s no hidden ~$1k/yr to recover like on an investor/flip. Still must re-file after closing.
• 2022 assessment spike + general no-cap drift → ongoing upward tax pressure.
• The genuine pluses: true 3bd / 2 full ba, a 2000 build (low deferred-maintenance risk — one of the newer candidates on the board), AC, attached garage, ~1,232 sqft. Clean single-family spec.

Bottom line

Numbers work: clean 20% down fits (~$94.3k cash, ~$10.7k left) and all-in lands ~$2,330 — about $170 under the $2,500 ceiling. The house is a solid, modern (2000) true 3/2 with genuinely cheap Meridian taxes. The catch is price discipline: it’s listed ~19% over the county’s assessed value with no equity cushion, so the verdict hinges on not overpaying. Viable contender — pursue, but anchor the offer toward assessed (high-$300s) rather than the $410k ask, and FILE FOR THE EXEMPTION after closing.