I purchased my home in 2011, got a Heloc line of credit in 2015, refinanced in 2016, and now we are refinancing again to get out of FHA/Mortgage insurance. The three appraisals that we got for the purchase, heloc, and refinance all considered our home a 3 bedroom 2 bath (one even gave us credit for a half bath in the garage but I don't think either of the other two did). I just got the appraisal on Friday for this latest refinance and I thought he made a mistake because he listed our home as a 2 bedroom, 2 bath and all the comps were 2bed 1 or 2 baths. When I contacted him, I let him know that the third bedroom is actually a bedroom with a closet but we just had a lot of boxes in there covering the closet. I took a picture and sent it to him.
His response was that it doesn't matter if there is a closet and that he didn't consider it a bedroom because you have to go through the living room to get to a bathroom. I'm baffled - how can three other appraisers consider it a bedroom and one not? That severely changes the value of our home - 2 bedroom homes just don't sell as well as 3 bedroom homes. Also, I checked the Florida building codes and it says a bedroom is a room of a certain square footage, with two means of escape, and a closet.
So to me that means it DOES matter if it has a closet and it DOESN'T matter if it is near a bathroom. I sent our lender my protest and provided 3 comps of 3bed/2bath using the appraiser's method of adding/removing value to get to a final comp value.
What are your thoughts on whether a room is a bedroom or not? Do you think the appraiser would be willing to change the appraisal? Does it hold weight that three other appraisals on the same house were for a 3 bedroom home?
Your insight is most appreciated!
His response was that it doesn't matter if there is a closet and that he didn't consider it a bedroom because you have to go through the living room to get to a bathroom. I'm baffled - how can three other appraisers consider it a bedroom and one not? That severely changes the value of our home - 2 bedroom homes just don't sell as well as 3 bedroom homes. Also, I checked the Florida building codes and it says a bedroom is a room of a certain square footage, with two means of escape, and a closet.
So to me that means it DOES matter if it has a closet and it DOESN'T matter if it is near a bathroom. I sent our lender my protest and provided 3 comps of 3bed/2bath using the appraiser's method of adding/removing value to get to a final comp value.
What are your thoughts on whether a room is a bedroom or not? Do you think the appraiser would be willing to change the appraisal? Does it hold weight that three other appraisals on the same house were for a 3 bedroom home?
Your insight is most appreciated!