Below Grade Is Being Used As GLA

[joebuck]

Below Grade In Colorado Such As A Split Level Is Being Called Living Space Fannie Mae Is Very Clear On This Anything Under Grade Is Basement Or Other But Not Living Space. I Agree With This Can I Get Some Comments.

 

[Greg Bell]

ANY below ground area is considered BASEMENT.Now get ready for all the baloney about how it can be included in living space.Just don't do it and you will be safe.......

 

[Richard Carlsen]

Only two times do I ever use the finished below grade in the GLA.

#1 If the design of the house requires that area in order to function as a house. i.e. Kitchen, dining and living rooms in the basement with the bedrooms and bath on the upper level. If you do not include the lower level, you do not have a functioning house.

#2 Waterfront properties where the lower walkout level faces the front of the house (lake side) and is finished to above grade quality with bedrooms, bath and rec room as examples. In our market, the buying public sees finished walkouts as useful living space, particularly in waterfront properties where the lower walkout facing the lake gets significant use as everyday living space.

 

[Ken B]

A comment: Stop using caps on every word. It's difficult to read and amateurish.

Another comment: Below grade area is basement area. It can be finished, but should not included in above grade area. Does it add to gross living area or "living space?" Sure, its just not above grade GLA.

Take a rambler on basement with the following characteristics.

-1000 sf above grade with 400 sf garage
-1000 sf below grade with 500 finished area similar in quality and functionality as above grade area
-200 sf rear porch

This is a test:

What is the GBA?
What is the GLA by industry definition?
What is the GLA by FNMA standards?
What is the finished living area?
What is the area under roof?
*What would you report for a SFR in a report conforming with FNMA guidelines?
How must you report the spaces in a URAR comp grid?
*What would you report for a 2-4 family property in a report conforming with FNMA guidelines?
Which one of these questions is the trick question?

*Clarification: What area type would one report for SFR and for 2-4 Family properties?

 

[stefan olafson]

Too many questions!
GBA - 2,000 Sq Ft
GLA - 1,000 Sq Ft
GLA by FNMA Standards - Trick Question
Finished Living Area - 1,500 Sq Ft
1,000 sq ft inder roof
1,000 sq ft of GLA, 1,000 sq ft bsmt with 500 sq ft finished
1,000 sf GLA, 1,000sf bsmt 50% finished, 400sf garage - finished
Same GLA, Same GBA, etc

 

[TC]

guess not, never mind

 

[Carnivore]

ANSI is clear about this also. So is the NAR crowd(they plagerized ANSI).

The question you should be asking yourself is WHY would you want to include it in the GLA. The value contribution is irrelevent. does not matter if it is the same per sft value, it is still basement.

Keep them seperate and you will never be accused of being wrong!

 

[Richard Carlsen]

The question you should be asking yourself is WHY would you want to include it in the GLA. The value contribution is irrelevant. does not matter if it is the same per sft value, it is still basement.

Because value is determined in the market place and not in a conference room in Washington DC. If the market considers it part of the GLA, then the appraiser, with justification as I noted in my post above, is fully justified in considering the below grade as part of the GLA.

The value contribution is irrelevant. ​

I find it hard to believe that anyone with any level license would make this kind of a comment. But then.....................

 

[Carnivore]

Richard,

It is irrelevent if the per unit value of the basement improvement is less then, equal to or more than the GLA per unit value of the improvement.

The two are distinctly different in a physical way. Would you include an attached garage sft in the GLA if you discovered the per unit value contribution was equal to the GLA per unit value? I did not think so!

 

[Ken B]

Clear to one is murky to another!

"We" may know the answers, but the rest of the world does not.

GBA = 2,000 sf (I have seen garage area included in GBA; it should not be.)

GLA = 1,000 sf (There is no difference between "industry standard" and FNMA guideline)

Finished living area = 1,500 sf

Area under roof = "It depends." Some will say 1,000 sf, some will say 1,400 sf, some will say 1,600 sf. I say 1,600 sf...so do most of the agents around here and so does the county appraiser. Air-conditioned area under roof is a different matter. Again, some will say 1,000 sf, some will say 1,500 sf, some will say 2,000 sf. I say its almost time for a beer!

For SFR, one reports GLA.

The "trick" question...FNMA does not state one "must" report GLA in a certain method. The "guidelines" suggest a way it should be reported, but they also recognize there may be property-specific circumstances where it may be appropriate to digress from the suggested guidelines.

For 2-4 residential properties, GBA is reported. GBA includes below grade area. Have a split foyer that has been legally and physically divided into a duplex and is leased out? That's a 2-4 family property. The whole above grade GLA/basement finish question is moot.

But we all knew this already...basically my point is that different segments of the industry and different geographical areas will describe the same property feature differently.

Now, what do you call a split foyer that has a lower level not just totally above grade, but on a crawlspace to boot?

"Dumb" (but real...and reported as a split foyer with a lower level "below" grade for comparison purposes. You can put slicks on a dumptruck, but that doesn't make it a race car.)