Bracketing Square footage

[James Micozzi]

Can anyone assist me in locating any guideline, either in USPAP or Fannie Mae, indicating that the square footage of the subject must be bracketed? I would appreciate any insight. Thanks

 

[Mr Rex]

Not going to find it in either place. If you can bracket, do it, it prevents calls from UW, if you can't do it, explain it very well in your report or you will get call backs and be asking for help here.

 

[George W Dodd]

Use the best comps. Bracketing is nice if it happens but don't eliminate good sales that required no or little adjustment just to conform to somebody else's idea.

 

[James Micozzi]

Michael

thank you. I thought there were no guidelines in USPAP or Fannie Mae but I figured I just ask to confirm this. Thanks again.

 

[incognito]

Bracketing square foorage is one of those mythical guidelines that so many underwriters believe is a real FNMA guideline. It is an FHA guideline, and I suppose that it crept into the minds of underwriters as a FNMA guideline. It is just like the 1 mile distance guideline. There is no such guideline for FNMA. I believe that it started as a VA guideline, and eventually became to be believed as a FNMA guideline, but it is not.

That is not to say that if you are loaded with comparables that it wouldn't be a bad idea to bracket by square footage. But be real careful when some dopey underwriter asks for comps that bracket the subject by price! That is illegal, yet I receive at least a couple or such requests each year...

 

[Hank Henry]

If there is no bracketing, how does the underwriter/reviewer know that the subject is not an under/overimprovement for the area. Questions may arise if one makes large, unsupported across the board GLA adjustments.