3 ft high weeds

[jcoffey]

I have an FHA appraisal for a mfg home (vacant) and the weeds are 3 ft + high. Question (don't laugh) is this a safety question or a deferred maintenance problem.......or both? Snakes and things you know.

 

[Don Clark]

Neither. It is a landscaping issue. But, suppose you consider it deferred maintenance. How would you make a market reaction adjustment? Or, if it is a safety issue. How would you describe that it is unsafe? I believe you are over thinking this one. I would simply show a photo of the high grass(no pun intended), make a comment beside the photo, and let it go at that.

 

[Webbed Feet]

I have an FHA appraisal for a mfg home (vacant) and the weeds are 3 ft + high. Question (don't laugh) is this a safety question or a deferred maintenance problem.......or both? Snakes and things you know.

Mr. Coffey,

Sure hope your first name is not Jennifer! ..

I agree and disagree both with the esteemed Mr. Clark. Especially, if this is a sale. You didn't say. I do so reminding myself of my location versus your location, and the fact I remember my brother telling me a water moccasin (snake to you Pacific NW folks) came out of the canal behind his place when he lived in one location and killed his dog. So I guess it could have killed a child. Finding one when it is two inches away from you, or your kids, due to lack of yard maintenance may not be a desired thrill in some locations.

So here is my answer. If you have poisonous snakes or other undesirable, and deadly, critters that make tall grass and weeds considered dangerous by the real estate buying public in your area..... then you have a safety issue. If the public does not consider an overgrown residential yard hazardous, just ugly, then you have only a maintenance issue adjusted on the condition row of the grid. (Maybe the appeal row. Either way, weed wacking and other corrections to the acceptable level for that market may not be much of an adjustment. Just show you considered it as needed.)

It is not only just FHA described hazards we need to consider if the local market has other ones that IT is considering! But if you choose the battle, be prepared to fight the war and prove your right.

Webbed.

 

[jcoffey]

It is a sale, and a short one at that......that may explain the lack of yard care. I think I will just let it go and not even mention it (the tall grass) on the report and see what happens.

 

[Webbed Feet]

It is a sale, and a short one at that......that may explain the lack of yard care. I think I will just let it go and not even mention it (the tall grass) on the report and see what happens.

That was a jest, right? ... .... You DO plan on describing the ENTIRE property in it's factual condition? Because omitting the information was not what I meant by picking your battles. You understood that right?

Webbed.

 

[TJSum]

I have an FHA appraisal for a mfg home (vacant) and the weeds are 3 ft + high. Question (don't laugh) is this a safety question or a deferred maintenance problem.......or both? Snakes and things you know.

Both. The deferred maintenance most certainly affects market appeal. It also is a safety hazard as it is a magnet for rodents, stray dogs and cats, snakes, vagrants, bugs, you name it.

 

[Don Clark]

It is a sale, and a short one at that......that may explain the lack of yard care. I think I will just let it go and not even mention it (the tall grass) on the report and see what happens.

If you do that, then you will have completed a misleading report, and one that is not credible. I simply wanted you to think about it. I also suggested you take photos of it so someone else could see what you are describing. You, not this forum, must decide if it is a safety issue or a deferred maintenance issue.

 

[Restrain]

Cost to cure = mow lawn. Probably no more than a couple hundred. Just include it in the condition adjustment, don't condition the report on mowing a lawn.

 

[PropertyEconomics]

It is a sale, and a short one at that......that may explain the lack of yard care. I think I will just let it go and not even mention it (the tall grass) on the report and see what happens.

Jcoffey ... if the above statement is true and representative of your actual course of action .. you should not be appraising real estate.
If in jest put a smiley there to let everyone know you were kidding, I fear, however, you were serious. If so .. then my statement as to your not being an appraiser is also serious. m2:

 

[Lobo Fan]

In some areas it could be a fire hazard. I would hit it with a C2C but not make it subject to. This remoinds me of moving into my last house. From the time we signed the contract to the time we moved in was about 8 weeks (June to September). The sellers allowed the weeds to get about 4 feet high. as I pulled in the drivway with the first load, I noticed a big fat rattlesnalke sunning itself on the driveway.

I got right to getting those weeds ccut down to the nubbins and talked that wife into getting a couple of cats.