2 houses 1 lot PLEASE HELP

[medinaappraisal]

i have been asked to appraise 2 houses on 1 lot (Refi), does anyone have any experience with something of this nature? It appears the owner built 2 houses on 1 lot. County tax records only show one improvement. Should this be treated as a home with a separate living quarters? I am what this site considers a newb, my guess is that this requires 2 appraisals. Please help.

-Best Regards

 

[wickedness1]

I would first find out if it's legal zoning & if county even knows about the second house. Sounds like it might be illegal in which case the lender would need to know, as they won't loan on an illegal situation.

 

[Lee in L.A.]

If they're both legal it would seem you have a duplex.

 

[Mztk1]

Right. Best to check with the planning board. Call and ask if any permits have been pulled on the property lately. If yes, ask for what. If no, call your lender and tell them you have a second house recently built without permits on the lot, and see if they want you to proceed. Do not tell planning what type of permits you are looking for, or that there is a second house on the lot, unless of course they tell you. Otherwise, that could be a breach of confidentiality.

Make sure if permits were pulled that the house can be rebuilt if destroyed. And then you'll have to figure out if this is a two family property or a single family property with accessory unit.

 

[jakeboeger]

Good advice.

I usually encounter the "two homes one lot" scenario in areas like Oakland, Richmond & Hayward.

Definitely start with the zoning & go from there.

 

[wickedness1]

Do not tell planning what type of permits you are looking for, or that there is a second house on the lot, unless of course they tell you. Otherwise, that could be a breach of confidentiality.

Good point. We had an illegal use for a 3 family and building & zoning told us that the HO would need an occupancy permit if they wanted to convert it (We didn't tell them it already was-confidentiality). LO relayed info to HO who did not want to risk attempting to obtain an occupancy permit.
The deal was dead.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

1st) Rule out the possibilty that it requires 2 appraisals.

2nd) P.L.F.M. -or- L.P.F.M.

 

[Tony in Ohio]

I run into this occasionally on inner city lots with homes built prior to zoning or on some country lots. As noted the first thing to do is make sure it is legal.

I generally do them as a duplex but that is a highest and best use determination. If one unit is much larger than the other, and it is primarily a single family neighbourhood the second home may be an accessory unit.

Your data will probably be pretty crappy so do not skimp on comps. I often use both single family homes and doubles (With major adjustments of course) and bracket it as much as possible. Sometimes your best comps wont show what it is worth.... they will show what the subject is not worth. :new_smile-l: Good luck.

 

[Domino]

I never trust assessor records..I have run into this situation (2 buildings - 1 lot) numerous times here in Rhode Island.. I always verify the legal use and view a certificate of occupancy if available. Depending on the age of the home, many times there is no C/O available, so I pull the most recent permit on the property and it usually states the legal use. If its a legal 2 unit, then I would simply compare it with other 2 units in the neighborhood, however I would try to locate at least 1 simialr style sale or pending (2 buildings) even if it meant going into a different but similar town/location.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

LOCATION??? Which County and/or town/village/city (if applicable)???