Tenant occupied - Lender wants me to check "owner occupied".

[TMG]

1. Owner mailing address does not match subject address.
2. Some guy (possible prop mgr-limited English so I don't know more about him) met me at the property.
3. Every bedroom had several beds and all appeared to be separate room rental leases.

I marked "tenant occupied" on the appraisal and commented the above info.
Now owner is emailing me saying its his "second home" can I change it to "owner occ".

I cant really prove he doesn't live there. Can I make it "owner occupied" and keep the above disclosures in the addendum?

Thank you in advance for any experience/advice.

 

[Meandering]

Now owner is emailing me saying its his "second home" can I change it to "owner occ".
No
and
No
and
No

The CLIENT can ask you, but get that request in writing from the CLIENT, not the owner.

And if you change it based on the CLIENT'S request, put a blurb on the URAR that the CLIENT stated it is the owner's second home.

It'll still screw up the mortgage, as second home properties don't qualify for the same rates as primaries.

.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Sounds tenant occ to me. Possibly overcrowded.
Tell him he is not your client.

 

[Mountain Man]

I'd have called the client and advised them the owner is running an illegal tenement/boarding house. Then refused to do anything else, especially when it comes to communicating with the owner.

 

[LordofTexas]

Do like I do when you get this request; tell the client a current electric bill or cable television bill is just as much proof the owner currently occupies it as the appearance it is tenant occupied. You have indicated your impression, let them prove you wrong.

 

[KenAZ]

You cannot tell if it is owner or tenant. You are offering an opinion that it is, based on your investigation. You really have no proof either way. I am sure that many times the owner has staged the home as if he occupied it, but who am I to make that determination?

Is it possible that the owner lives there and rents the rooms? Is it possible that he has many kids or another family is temporarily living with him?

Who knows. We should not be held responsible for this. No matter what call you make, you better make sure you are 100 percent correct.

If it were me, I would basically use the lenders opinion, make a note in the report and in your file.

"Client has assured the appraiser that this is a second home for the borrower"

Maybe add a second note . . .

"Appraiser is not aware how many months out of the year that the owner lives at the property."

Then offer your detective/investigator services to stake out the home every night for one year, to then come up with an accurate and supportable conclusion.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Just check the box. Explain why you checked the one you did if you think there will be a question.
I have explained a few times, Can't recall getting a question. Ever.

 

[Meandering]

Now owner is emailing me saying its his "second home" can I change it to "owner occ".

If the owner is emailing you, I would guess, the owner now has a copy of your completed report?

What did the lender say?

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[chad hampton]

I'd ask why did the property manager meet me at the site instead of the borrower? Even if they claim he is letting his "friends" live there for free, it is still not "owner occupied"

Occupancy fraud was a major issue in the last crash. We probably all saw a lot of it, people have no problem walking away from homes they don't live in. And when you decide to buy 10 homes as "owner occupied" then the market crashes, you simply walk away from 9 of them. And everyone involved along the way, from borrower to lender had no problem lying on applications. It was only ever the appraisers that tried to do the right thing.

And as usual, we got punished.

 

[J Grant]

Perhaps run it by the lender, tell them what happened and that owner emailed you he uses it as a second home. Whatever your decide, disclose everything just as you did here.