A Lot Of Trash In Backyard

[jmaze1793]

The UW has declined an appraisal, as there is a lot of trash/debris in the rear yard. Here is the scenario. Home is 91 years old. Homeowner has lived there entire life has a collection of things. It is not all trash, the homeowner is one of those people that just collects stuff. i.e. engines, TVs, computer monitors, machinery, cars, etc. There is just a large amount of collected items in the rear yard. So my rear photo of the house was over looking a pile, a very large pile of this mans personal property scatted throughout the entire backyard.
Because of this the UW is stating the home is in below-average condition and that I mis-represented the condition in the report and am now up to be blacklisted. (I PUT property IN AVERAGE CONDITION)
My argument is that we cannot call the entire condition of the property below average if only the backyard looks bad or has a bunch of stuff in it. It is more less cosmetic in my mind as it can be removed therefore eliminating the problem. (if it is even a problem) The structure/design and appeal of the house is average for the neighborhood.
The front yard or curb appeal is very presentable. No trash/debris at all.


Any feedback would be great.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Actually, there are additional issues when a yard is filled with items like you have described, some of which could be dangerous environment issues. The UW is right to question this condition, IMO. "Typically", when a yard is like that, most of the property inside and out is like that. That is not what I would term 'Average' condition, even though the majority is personal property. Have you ever checked out what it costs to hire a company to remove all of that kind of stuff? How much of it do you think the current owner would have removed if s/he was foreclosed on?

As far as a 'typical' buyer looking at this property, how much do you think they might discount for this property even though the seller was going to have all of this removed? What would it take to put the yard into a more typical condition like the surrounding properties? Ask a few Realtors with many years of experience about this.

Thinking about these issues, please do now read the Definition of Market Value on any of those Fannie forms. Realistically, now that you've stepped back and put all of this information into the equation, how would you now respond to this UW about this issue? IMO, it's never too late to admit you might have been improperly trained, have learned just now how to properly handle this situation which is something you hadn't dealt with before, and will be happy to do this appraisal over again and send a new report?????
BTW, this is from someone who has been there, learned from the mistakes, remedied those mistakes the way I just suggested, and went forward with a new respect from the UW.

 

[Ultraviolet]

Did you include interior photos to support your average condition rating?

 

[jmaze1793]

IMO, it's never too late to admit you might have been improperly trained, have learned just now how to properly handle this situation which is something you hadn't dealt with before, and will be happy to do this appraisal over again and send a new report

So you are suggesting as a rebuttal to admit wrong doing / or lack or training and offer a new appraisal?
Pretty risky I would think. So the argument about htis stuff being personal property is a nogo

 

[jmaze1793]

no interior photos were provided as they are not requirted. But Pamela nailed it. a few of the rooms on the inside tro inlclude Living room, and dining room had a bunch of stuff in them as well.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Send me you contact info if you'd like to chat about this.

pec514 @ yahoo. com (remove the spaces)

 

[Tom Foster]

Looks like you got a pack rat home.

Just add 27 cats and 13 dogs.

 

[Michigan CG]

no interior photos were provided as they are not requirted. But Pamela nailed it. a few of the rooms on the inside tro inlclude Living room, and dining room had a bunch of stuff in them as well.

Why, oh why. would you not include interior photos for EVERY appraisal you do in this litigious world, and especially this property.

Too many appraisers are doing the least amount required when we should be showing how our work quality is better than the competition. There bare minimum does not cut it in my book.

 

[DonRico]

Ya know.....we have this discussion about interior photos at least once a month around here.

This is not the olden days where you had to pay extra to develop the prints and tape them to the report yada yada yada.

It's the 21st century. The digital age is here! Photos are free! Whether required by the lender or not....you should, at minimum, be taking pictures of the kitchen, the bathroom and whatever other obvious value-adding or value-diminishing features you find.