Appraisal help: Bonus room w/ bathroom doesn't count?

[Speed]

Hello Folks, have a question about an appraisal on a house I am building. Going through the loan process, the bank hired an Appraiser to evaluate our property. The primary question I have is the bank's Appraiser refused to count the bonus square footage in any form towards the value of the house.

Now mind you this wasn't just an afterthought tapered gray box over the garage. The original plans call for a steep roof (12:1) to accommodate this space. It has a staircase from the inside of the first floor to the room. The room has 8 foot ceilings with no taper or knee walls, 3 windows large enough for egress, and a 1/2 bath. The room would be finished to the same quality as the rest of the house.

He quoted ANSI (no specific standard, just threw the name out there) as not valuing bonus rooms. There were a lot of other details, as I'm sure there always is but the appraisal and logic behind the whole thing just seemed ludicrous to me. Just wondering if anyone might be able to shed some light!

 

[Atlanta CG]

Sounds like a misinterpretation of ANSI based on your comments.

 

[Michigan CG]

send me your e-mail address to monroevaluation @ aol dot com and I will e-mail you the ANSI standards.

If this space can be accessed from the home without going through an unheated area and the space you are talking about is heated then it sounds as though this guy might be wrong.

 

[Mike Plumlee]

The room would be finished to the same quality as the rest of the house.

Based on that (and if it is heated/cooled as the rest of the home) and it is accessible directly from the main area of the home .... I would count it as living area. ANSI does not specifically forbid bonus rooms by name as being counted towards living area. You should press the point with the lender if it significant square footage.

 

[Michigander]

Even if it weren't counted in the gross living area, it would typically add value. Did you see any line item adjustments on the grid of the appraisal indicating that it had been included separately? If it only has one access point and doesn't flow with the rest of the house (e.g. an area accessed through the laundry room over the garage that doesn't tie in with the rest of the upstairs) it could well have been treated that way, or otherwise had some functional adjustment made due to lack of flow.

Do you have the appraisal report to read?

 

[Speed]

Hey guys, thanks for the followup. I've grabbed a link to the original house plans that might shed some light:

http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plan-48189fm.asp

Bear in mind that the plans have been modified to expand the window in the front and add two to the back. We've also included a 1/2 bath. You can see the stairs accessing the bonus room on the plans.

 

[Walter Kirk]

Just a thought; If you expanded the powder room to a full bath and included a closet this may be considered a master suite, you might add value to your imrovement this way for little cost.

 

[Speed]

Just a thought; If you expanded the powder room to a full bath and included a closet this may be considered a master suite, you might add value to your imrovement this way for little cost.

Do you mean making the 1/2 bath in the bonus room a full bath and call it a master suite? Or expanding the little powder room in the hall way near the entrance? If you mean the bonus room, that's a great idea!

 

[Mike Kennedy]

ANSI - Attic Room

Hey guys, thanks for the followup. I've grabbed a link to the original house plans that might shed some light:

http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plan-48189fm.asp

Bear in mind that the plans have been modified to expand the window in the front and add two to the back. We've also included a 1/2 bath. You can see the stairs accessing the bonus room on the plans.

Attics, Lofts and Low Ceilings

Level ceilings must be at least 7 feet high, and at least 6 feet 4 inches under beams, ducts and other obstructions. There is no height restriction under stairs. If a room has a sloped ceiling, at least one-half of the finished floor area must have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet. Otherwise, omit the entire room from the floor area calculations. If a room with a sloped ceiling meets the one-half-of-floor-area-over-7-feet requirement, then include all the floor space with a ceiling height over 5 feet.

Lofts and finished attics must be accessible by a conventional stairway or other access to be counted. If you can only reach the loft by climbing a ladder, it's not part of the finished floor area regardless of the ceiling height

 

[Speed]

Even if it weren't counted in the gross living area, it would typically add value. Did you see any line item adjustments on the grid of the appraisal indicating that it had been included separately? If it only has one access point and doesn't flow with the rest of the house (e.g. an area accessed through the laundry room over the garage that doesn't tie in with the rest of the upstairs) it could well have been treated that way, or otherwise had some functional adjustment made due to lack of flow.

Do you have the appraisal report to read?

I have a copy of the report and have read it front to back and side to side trying to understand where the logic is. I can't find any notation of any thing other than the bottom floor space. There are a number of discrepancies comparing against the listed comps but I just chocked that up to opinion/economy.

Attics, Lofts and Low Ceilings

Level ceilings must be at least 7 feet high, and at least 6 feet 4 inches under beams, ducts and other obstructions. There is no height restriction under stairs. If a room has a sloped ceiling, at least one-half of the finished floor area must have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet. Otherwise, omit the entire room from the floor area calculations. If a room with a sloped ceiling meets the one-half-of-floor-area-over-7-feet requirement, then include all the floor space with a ceiling height over 5 feet.

Lofts and finished attics must be accessible by a conventional stairway or other access to be counted. If you can only reach the loft by climbing a ladder, it's not part of the finished floor area regardless of the ceiling height

Thanks for posting. Seems like we would meet those requirements to count the bonus room in the GLA.