Collateral Underwriting Appraisal Messages

[J Grant]

There's a line under each of the view fields where an appraisers can write more specific . Fore example under the : Pastoral an appraiser can type Other; and then "woods", "open", "farms" etc.

An appraiser should know their market well enough to determine if facing woods is considered neutral or beneficial, and whichever they choose explain why.

 

[Meandering]

The view (or location) may change over time, but the comp must remain the same once selected, and even if it changes after the sale, the rating should reflect what it was at the time of the sale.

That thinking only works if the database is tracking a single sale of a property and not just tracking a property by address. You want to guess next year if they're checking your comps against their address or if they're checking comps against the address and the date of sale? We have some properties that sold 2 times in 3 years. In between sales, if the view or condition has changed substantially, how does the database get updated? Especially if there was a cash purchase, without a new financing appraisal, Your comp data will differ from Fannies, yes your support might say the home was recently rehabed, but what did the last appraiser offer as their comp support? Who decides which is correct, and on what information do they place that decision?

 

[J Grant]

If changes have been made to a property that affects view or condition, use the new one and explain why. Even if Fannie flags it, when you explain that the view is different than two years ago because a developer built homes where the woods used to be, that will cover it.

If your view photo shows houses and not woods in the back , that will further support it. So the more recent information becomes the correct information for that comp.

 

[Meandering]

I saw one with a railroad track at the eastern property boundary. No wall, no fence. The track had been there for about 100 years and was unused for more than 50 years. The railroad authority rehabilitated the track and it was now being used for a single freight line to a single customer. The refi appraisal of the house along the track did not even report the track as being there, eventhough you could see parts of the track in the photos. There was no mention in the report of the track being, nevermind a mention of the track being live. When the home was originally purchased the track, as I said had laid there unused for about 50 years. Sneaky skippy just did not bother to mention the track. So the change went from abandoned railroad track at the property edge to a live freight track without a barrier to prevent children from being on the track.

Easy with a subject property, not so easy when it happens between sales you are using as comps.

 

[Meandering]

If changes have been made to a property that affects view or condition, use the new one and explain why. Even if Fannie flags it, when you explain that the view is different than two years ago because a developer built homes where the woods used to be, that will cover it.

If your view photo shows houses and not woods in the back , that will further support it. So the more recent information becomes the correct information for that comp.

Sounds goood in suburbia,

But minimum lot size is one acre, no centralized water or sewer, so everyone on well and septic, most subdivisions have prohibitations on clear cutting trees in the yard.. It is the woods, with houses mixed in. So is it a view of the woods, or is it typical residential for the area?

 

[J Grant]

Sounds goood in suburbia,

But minimum lot size is one acre, no centralized water or sewer, so everyone on well and septic, most subdivisions have prohibitations on clear cutting trees in the yard.. It is the woods, with houses mixed in. So is it a view of the woods, or is it typical residential for the area?

It's your area so you have to make the call...when I do appraisals in areas like that, I will tend to call those views you describe as neutral , assuming views of houses mixed with woods are considered typical and buyers are not paying more to have them nor less to avoid them.

Neutral is what it implies. In suburbia neutral could be backing up to other houses, in outlying area neutral is woods with houses mixed in or patches of wooded areas as the view. Appraiser has to use common sense and observation of how market reacts and what agents and buyers consider neutral/typical for that specific market area.

 

[J Grant]

I saw one with a railroad track at the eastern property boundary. No wall, no fence. The track had been there for about 100 years and was unused for more than 50 years. The railroad authority rehabilitated the track and it was now being used for a single freight line to a single customer. The refi appraisal of the house along the track did not even report the track as being there, eventhough you could see parts of the track in the photos. There was no mention in the report of the track being, nevermind a mention of the track being live. When the home was originally purchased the track, as I said had laid there unused for about 50 years. Sneaky skippy just did not bother to mention the track. So the change went from abandoned railroad track at the property edge to a live freight track without a barrier to prevent children from being on the track.

Easy with a subject property, not so easy when it happens between sales you are using as comps.

With the new CU, assuming at least SOME of the appraises in area are honest, they will report that house with RR track, either as subject or if used as a comp. Fannie has appraisals going back years on properties including old refinance or equity line appraisals, tax records and aerial maps that show the view that will be in their model. Which means the CU might over time identify the Skippy?

 

[Meandering]

I got that J.

But with the railroad, nothing in the view changed. The track is still in the same place for 100 years. It only went from dead to live. Skippy had to answer for not mentioning it being there, but I had to show it with cars at delivery points to show it was live.

 

[Meandering]

I only wonder how many appraisals ignored the track while it was dead and never mentioned it.

 

[J Grant]

Who knows . I would hope some appraisers in your area are competent/honest. Fannie also is using aerial maps and other tools in their models on properties. And aerial map should show the track.