UAD Quality Rating and Historic Home

[Pam Wyant]

I would say you could call it either Q2 or Q3 and be correct based on your description of the overall quality of the home, the important thing is that you are consistent in your rating of the comparables, including any future use of those comparables. Personally I would probably lean more toward Q3 due to the kitchen and baths for the same reasoning as J Grant.

 

[residentialguy]

Pam...I think you may be out of touch for what a Q2 house is. I recently appraised a property at 4.8 million, with 1.5 being land. That was Q2

 

[JTip]

An occupant of a 1790 home was not concerned with running water or granite counters with zero insulation. I bet the bathroom toilet was simply a hole cut in the wall (for the men). Period details? Freestanding whale oil lamp for reading Thomas Jefferson's Notes of the Week? Extinct wood flooring does not make a Q3, everybody had chestnut flooring in the 1800's, as common as simulated wood grain cabinets today.

Now updated with modern amenties (be it 40 years ago), it would be, IMO, a Q4.

 

[J Grant]

I have to wonder whether the lack of upgrading/remodeling of kitchens and baths was deliberate...that old a house might have plumbing or electrical deficiencies that would be extremely costly to cure ...the rest of the house they can have fun and pile on period detail, which while of very high quality, is kind of like a stage set/decoration....what else is structurally going on in a 300 plus year old house .

Even in a regular house, kitchens and baths can be among the most expensive rooms to remodel.

 

[residentialguy]

Last 2 posts are getting to the nitty gritty. Historic homes aren't valuable for their high quality materials, (unless you're talking about a high quality mansions with actual high quality materials, design, workmanship, etc) Historic homes are valuable because they are historic and scarce. They can't be reproduced.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

And two wire electrical, low foundations, single pane windows, lack of insulation are not a quality factor? ... I think I am in Res guy's camp here....I know an elderly woman who lives in one of those old drafty homes, crown molding, pocket doors, big double hung windows... Her electric bill is $400 a month and gas bill can run $500 - 700 a month in winter so she closes off all but one bedroom and the kitchen / dining area.

"In it's day" it may have been quality, but that day is gone.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

I just got some more notices regarding the new UC. Based upon this discussion we are screwed. Just the varying opinions on this house show me that appraisers can't agree on much. So when lenders start comparing data with other appraiser's data we are in a heap of do do.

 

[The Warrior Monk]

Last 2 posts are getting to the nitty gritty. Historic homes aren't valuable for their high quality materials, (unless you're talking about a high quality mansions with actual high quality materials, design, workmanship, etc) Historic homes are valuable because they are historic and scarce. They can't be reproduced.

I'll agree that was can't be reproduced is the "ambiance and character." However, the home can be otherwise reproduced using period materials and workmanship. It's really expensive though. One of the more dramatic examples I know about is a complete reproduction of a Standford White home that burned to the ground, complete with the four-figure-per-square-foot cost.

Quality rating is simply a matter of the particular residence. I could easily see a Q2 rating for a historic home with dated bathrooms and kitchens. Q1 is also possible. I don't think anyone would rate The Breakers or Rose Cottage Q2 if they had economy bathrooms from Home Depot.

 

[J Grant]

Last 2 posts are getting to the nitty gritty. Historic homes aren't valuable for their high quality materials, (unless you're talking about a high quality mansions with actual high quality materials, design, workmanship, etc) Historic homes are valuable because they are historic and scarce. They can't be reproduced.

Their value and market acceptance is a different part of the appraisal question than the quality rating. The Q ratings have more to do with the cost approach than the value approach ( in some markets, historic homes may have high value and in others be a tough sell or only appeal to a very limited buyer pool).

Even analyzing this example from a Cost approach, the restoration of historic details was high cost, but the dated, cheap material kitchens and baths were low cost. The OP made no mention of original structure quality or design.. while thef interior authentic details might be expense, if the structure is wood frame low ceiling, for example, the ext structure might not be that expensive to replicate.

 

[CANative]

I just got some more notices regarding the new UC. Based upon this discussion we are screwed. Just the varying opinions on this house show me that appraisers can't agree on much. So when lenders start comparing data with other appraiser's data we are in a heap of do do.

They're looking for patterns of inconsistency. Not one off differences of opinion.