Bias terms and adjacent religious properties

[Value Ninja]

Years into the spotlight on appraisal bias and specific words used in reports and I still struggle with how to walk this tightrope while still accurately describing the characteristics of a property. I am currently working on an assignment of a single family house on a one street subdivision of 8 homes. This street is nestled between 1 large campus type religious property (church plus school plus other buildings) on 1 side. On the other side is another large church property. This is in an otherwise predominantly single family area. These 2 properties really stick out against the surrounding smaller single family properties in the aerial views. How can I somewhat accurately describe this location without straying into the land of bias? The first thing you notice about this location is these 2 adjacent properties.

 

[J Grant]

Years into the spotlight on appraisal bias and specific words used in reports and I still struggle with how to walk this tightrope while still accurately describing the characteristics of a property. I am currently working on an assignment of a single family house on a one street subdivision of 8 homes. This street is nestled between 1 large campus type religious property (church plus school plus other buildings) on 1 side. On the other side is another large church property. This is in an otherwise predominantly single family area. These 2 properties really stick out against the surrounding smaller single family properties in the aerial views. How can I somewhat accurately describe this location without straying into the land of bias? The first thing you notice about this location is these 2 adjacent properties.

Just say a religious property. It is relevant to this situation because it is adjacent to the subject, and a client would want to know if traffic or other adjacent beings impact value or appeal.

 

[Value Ninja]

Just say a religious property. It is relevant to this situation because it is adjacent to the subject, and a client would want to know if traffic or other adjacent beings impact value or appeal.

My software flags "religious" as a word not to use

 

[J Grant]

My software flags "religious" as a word not to use

To heck with your software; your software is not your client. Related topics such as church in a general neighborhood description are possible bias flags, but in this case, the proximity of adjacence makes it necessary to address for your client. Use a house of worship or church, IDK, say something and let the client decide .

 

[alebrewer]

Would the market penalize or reward the property for its location between the two non-commercial places of gathering or not?

 

[George Hatch]

You're fretting labels. They're fretting disparate uses

The issue isn't the religion, but rather the disparate use due to it not being another SFR. If it was a school or an equestrian facility or a 24-hr stop-n-rob the possibility of a potential effect on value of an adjacent disparate use would be the same.

Subject backs to a 4ac campus for a non-residential use.

 

[J Grant]

Would the market penalize or reward the property for its location between the two non-commercial places of gathering or not?

I often find the effect is neutral. However, each case is different of course.om

 

[George Hatch]

As with most situations these are opinions to be developed; not assumptions to make.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

Parochial School
...make em work for it.

 

[Value Ninja]

Would the market penalize or reward the property for its location between the two non-commercial places of gathering or not?

On the day I inspected, there was an event at one of these churches where the overflow parking completely covered up the street of my subject property. I wonder if it's like that for every main function there. It just so happened I was leaving at the same time the event was wrapping up. It took me over 20 minutes to get out of the driveway and off this street. Lucky for me I have some data on this very street going back a few years, so I have something to work with in terms of marketability. It just irritates me that I waste time and energy dancing around how to describe something so plain and simple. I settled on describing these properties as large 'non-residential/non-commercial use properties' and provided photos of both the properties and of the parking on the subject's street.