Assemblage vs plottage

[yes4me]

question 1:
Does anyone know the difference between the assemblage and plottage.
I think Assemblage is the process to add 2 sites together, and plottage is the increase in value.

question 2:
If we have a lot#1 worth 50k and lot#2 worth 75k, and the plottage of both is only worth 100k. There is a Real estate term for the lost in value, but I can't remember (It is not over-improvement).

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I think Assemblage is the process to add 2 sites together, and plottage is the increase in value

Assemblage would apply whether it increased the value or not, often it refers to assemblage of estates where the sum of the estates (surface, timber, mineral, etc.) totals more than the value in toto. Or simply to construct a larger parcel.

Plottage is usually something that happens when you have unusually small lots and by combining them improve the value of the whole. In many old towns, lots were 50' or less in width and with setbacks could not be built on or the building was not of typical design. Assembling lots together resulted in a plottage that enhanced the value.

Superadequacy does not apply to land thus is not an "over-improvement".

 

[hastalavista]

question 2:
If we have a lot#1 worth 50k and lot#2 worth 75k, and the plottage of both is only worth 100k. There is a Real estate term for the lost in value, but I can't remember (It is not over-improvement).

It would seem to me that in the above scenario, lots #1 and #2 have no (or little) surplus land.
If combined, surplus land is created; thus the difference in value.

 

[yes4me]

It would seem to me that in the above scenario, lots #1 and #2 have no (or little) surplus land.
If combined, surplus land is created; thus the difference in value.

Oh yes, that's the term I heard: "surplus land"
But this is a case of excess land.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[NLCApprMgr]

question 1:
Does anyone know the difference between the assemblage and plottage.
I think Assemblage is the process to add 2 sites together, and plottage is the increase in value.

question 2:
If we have a lot#1 worth 50k and lot#2 worth 75k, and the plottage of both is only worth 100k. There is a Real estate term for the lost in value, but I can't remember (It is not over-improvement).

You pretty much got it, but not quite. Assemblage is the process of combining parcels to create a greater whole. Plottage (positive or negative) is the difference between the combined values of the individual lots and the value of the assembled lot as a whole. In your question #2, the plottage value is -$25k, as the assembled value is lower than the lots individually.

I also saw something on excess/surplus land. This is something I see getting mixed up in some of the appraisals I read. Excess land is that amount of land that could be excised from the existing site and sold separately without impairing the legal permissibility (if a size condition exists, for example) of the original site. If excess land exists, this must be valued separately, and the subject property valued assuming removal of the excess land from the original site. Surplus land is where the amount of land that makes up a site exceeds the legal requirements and typical market for a particular type of improvement, but cannot be reasonably excised from the site as a whole. In this case, you would value the subject based on typical market site size and possibly add some contributory value to the additional land (if the market indicates).

 

[Ken B]

To clarify the nature of excess land, it is not land that could be subdivided and sold separately from a larger parcel, it is land that has a separate highest and best use from the larger parcel.

"Surplus land" is not associated with "loss in value." Surplus land is land that is greater than that needed to support the perfect improvement, as if vacant, or the existing improvements, as improved, if the existing improvements provide contribution to overall value. (Yes, this is textbook and I am aware there may be exceptions) As a result, it has less utility than the land necessary to support the perfect improvement, as if vacant, or the existing improvements, as improved. Utility is one of four factors which create value, with the other factors being scarcity, desire, and effective purchasing power.

Lacking the other three factors which create value, land which could be subdivided and sold separately from a larger parcel may not represent excess land because it would not have a separate highest and best use. Lacking those factors, such land would represent surplus land, at least for an interim period.

A lot of people, even very experienced and knowledgable appraisers, confuse the definitions for "surplus land" and "excess land". A crude, but effective, way to remember the differences is to think of "sucky surplus land" which simply means a larger yard to mow and which has lower value per unit of measurement than "excellent excess land" which means you should sell it off and it therefore has higher value per unit of measurement.

 

[3 Putt]

Simple Definitions

Excess Land: You can Subdivide

Surplus Land: Just more grass to cut