2972 W Margil Ct

Run June 10, 2026 · via boise-home-eval skill · rate ~6.5% (Bankrate 6.55% 6/10/2026, Freddie 6.48% 6/4, NerdWallet 6.41%) · cash fund $105k

Listing facts (per Eric)

• Source: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2972-W-Margil-Ct-Kuna-ID-83634/239900600_zpid/
• List price: ~$415,000 (per Eric)
• 3 bd / 2 ba · 1,505 sqft (county; Eric said ~1,502 — matches) · built 2016 · lot 0.163 ac · ~$276/sqft
• Single Family · single story (all 1,505 sqft main floor, no basement/attic) · has A/C · 426 sqft garage · 29 sqft porch · 100 sqft patio (county characteristics)

County record — Ada County Assessor (the truth)

• Parcel: R7909820380 · Subdivision: SILVER TRAIL SUB NO 01 · LOT 17 BLK 03 (Phase 1) · Zone R-6 · 0.163 ac · Tax Code Area 04 (Kuna)
• Owner of record: LARSON CASEY & KARA REVOCABLE TRUST 03/14/2024 (a named-person revocable trust, not an investor LLC; Instrument #2024015979 — taken 03/2024). A revocable living trust held by two named individuals reads as owner-occupied, not a flip — consistent with the exemption being in force (see taxes).
• 2026 assessed value: $356,900 — land $133,100 (MARKET) + dwelling $223,800 (COST)
• List (~$415k) is ~$58,100 / ~16.3% ABOVE the 2026 assessed value of $356,900. That’s a real premium over the county’s market figure — the widest list-vs-assessed gap of the upper-price candidates. Confirm the live list and push on what justifies ~16% over assessed.
• On the ~$512k “comp” worry: the nearby 2960 W Margil estimate (~$512k) does NOT hold up against this parcel — the actual assessor figure here is $356,900, so ~$415k is not low or stale; it’s already above assessed. That ~$512k number is almost certainly a Zestimate-style overshoot, not a market anchor.

Valuation history by year (no Idaho assessment cap — taxes drift with these)

Up ~42% over five years (2021 → 2026); 2022 was a local peak, and the trend has been steadily up since 2023. Budget for continued tax drift.

Actual property tax history (Total Taxes billed)

Read the tax line carefully — and don’t import Boise’s ~0.9% levy. Kuna sits in Tax Code Area 04, whose total levy is 0.004853424 (~0.485%) — roughly HALF the ~0.9–0.92% levy that governs Boise properties (Post St, Brookover, etc.). That low levy is the main reason this bill is small, and it is the single most important difference from the general plan’s Boise tax assumption — model Kuna’s actual levy, not Boise’s.

The exemption is already applied; this is a real reset bill, not a relief trick. The 2025 Total Taxes of $1,083.28 = exactly ($348,200 assessed − $125,000 homeowner’s exemption) × 0.004853424. The homeowner’s exemption is already baked into the “Total Taxes” column (consistent with the Larson trust occupying it since 03/2024). Watch the footnote trap: the 2025 row shows “Taxes Paid −$605.96” with $477.32 still due — that “Taxes Paid” figure is just a partial/first-half payment plus any relief credits and is not the bill. The Total Taxes column is the full, un-relieved charge, and it already reflects the exemption — so Eric’s reset bill is essentially this same number, not the artificially-low “paid” figure. No circuit-breaker is inflating the gap.

Affordability — VERDICT: FITS (~$2,307/mo, ~$193 under $2,500) but the TIGHTEST cash on the board

The unusually low Kuna TCA-04 levy plus the already-applied exemption gives this house the cheapest tax line of any candidate — which is the only reason a ~$415k list clears the $2,500 ceiling. Cash, not payment, is the binding wall here.

20% down (no PMI) — the only structure that makes sense

• 20% down = $83,000 → loan $332,000
• P&I at ~6.5%: ~$2,098/mo
• Property tax — Eric’s real bill (exemption already applied): ($356,900 assessed − $125k homeowner’s exemption) × 0.004853424 ≈ ~$1,126/yr ≈ ~$94/mo. Cheapest tax on the board.
• Insurance: ~$115/mo (2016 build, modest single-story)
• HOA: $0 (none found on record)
• PMI: $0
• All-in: ~$2,307/mo → ~$193/mo UNDER $2,500. Clears it. ✓ (Well over the old $2,000 target — the ~$415k price and ~6.5% rate push P&I to ~$2,098 — but the rock-bottom Kuna tax pulls the all-in back under the current ceiling.)

Cash — the tightest position of the entire batch. $83,000 down + ~$12,450 closing (3%) ≈ $95,450 — inside the $105k fund, but leaving only ~$9,550 of cushion. This is the highest cash-in and thinnest margin of any candidate (highest list price → biggest down + closing). The separate emergency fund stays untouched and is NOT a source for this.

Note on a <20% scenario

Not recommended, but if cash needed protecting: at ~$415k a smaller down triggers PMI (~$100–200/mo) and would push the all-in toward/over $2,500. The clean 20% structure is both affordable on payment and (barely) affordable on cash, so there’s no reason to take on PMI here. The real question is whether you want only ~$9.5k of house-fund cushion left, not whether to go below 20%.

Flags

• TIGHTEST cash on the board (~$95.5k in, only ~$9.5k of the fund left). This is the binding constraint. At ~$415k, 20% down + closing eats nearly the whole house fund. Any diligence surprise (repairs, rate buydown, higher closing costs, an appraisal gap) would push past the fund fast. If the list holds firm, this house is affordable on payment but cash-thin.
• List ~16.3% OVER assessed (~$58k premium) — the widest gap of the pricier candidates. You’d be paying ~$58k above the county’s market figure. Negotiate toward assessed; ~16% over is a real question, not a given. The ~$512k neighbor “comp” does not justify it — the actual parcel assessed at $356,900.
• Don’t model this off Boise’s ~0.9% levy. Kuna TCA 04 runs ~0.485% — about half. The cheap tax is the only thing keeping a $415k house under the $2,500 ceiling; if you mistakenly applied Boise’s levy you’d wrongly reject this house.
• FILE FOR THE HOMEOWNER’S EXEMPTION after closing — it does NOT transfer with the sale. The current owner has it (the trust occupies the home), but it resets on a new owner; file in your own name or the taxable value un-halves and the bill roughly doubles.
• Kuna, not Boise — that’s a location/commute call, not a line item. TCA 04 and School District No. 3 (Kuna), Kuna City/Library/Fire/Cemetery districts. Cheaper taxes come with a Kuna address and the commute that implies. That’s a life decision, not a number.
• Genuine pluses: 2016 build — by far the newest house on the board, so the least systems-age risk of any candidate (no 1939/1974-era foundation/electrical/plumbing worries). Full 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, 1,505 sqft single-story, A/C, 426 sqft garage, covered patio — the most house and the newest, with the cheapest tax. Inspect normally (roof, HVAC, sewer scope), but a 2016 home is the easy end of the inspection spectrum.

Bottom line

Fits on payment, is the newest/cleanest house on the board, but is the most expensive to buy into and the tightest on cash. At 20% down on ~$415k it runs ~$2,307/mo all-in (~$193 under the $2,500 ceiling), held under target almost entirely by an unusually low Kuna Tax Code Area 04 levy (~0.485%, about half of Boise’s ~0.9%) that, with the already-applied homeowner’s exemption, drops the tax to ~$1,126/yr (~$94/mo) — the cheapest tax on the board. The catch is cash: ~$95.5k in (highest of the batch) leaves only ~$9.5k of the $105k fund, and the list sits ~16.3% over the $356,900 assessed value — the widest premium of the upper-price candidates, and the ~$512k neighbor estimate does NOT back it up. On the upside, this is a 2016, 3bd / 2ba, 1,505 sqft single-story — the newest and largest of the recent candidates, so the lowest systems risk. Net: the best house quality and the cheapest carrying cost, paid for with the thinnest cash cushion and a meaningful premium over assessed. Negotiate hard toward assessed; if the price won’t move, decide whether ~$9.5k of remaining house fund is enough margin for you. FILE FOR THE EXEMPTION.