Condo common area appraisal

[Terrel L. Shields]

More of buying property rights than straight cost - they are not really buying a "staircase", they are buying the exclusive right to use the staircase

If attached then either the docs show it is their responsibility to maintain or it is the property owners (common area) to maintain. Same with the rear decks on some local condos. The owner of the condo pays to repair the deck but the POA paints to paint it and the condo on a rotating basis. It is all about the condo terms. But to value the stairs is a cost issue. There is no other way to value it accurately. And that is a value in use or an insurable value.

 

[RSW]

Maybe the HOA could sell the owner a license to use the stairs. Just a thought.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

The Answer you seek can likely be found in the Condo Docs - check for a. common property stairs or b. individually owned unit/entry staircase. a hint can usually be found in the specs stating what items/improvements the Condo is responsible for maintaining.

 

[Galaxy]

well, as silly as this sounds, wouldn't the owner of that unit own that private staircase. doesn't that staircase area count as part of the unit's GLA. so in fact you have accounted for it in the GLA. now how much more for that 'entry privacy' without similar comps. now you're getting in the minutia where USPAP will eat you up without actual proof. you can always give it some credit when picking a price in the adjusted price range. i would keep it a mystery $ amount, unless you like to stutter in court.

staircase and new front door needed to join two units (single owner) into one 3300 sf GLA. The extra 100 sf is now common area.

 

[Galaxy]

The Answer you seek can likely be found in the Condo Docs - check for a. common property stairs or b. individually owned unit/entry staircase. a hint can usually be found in the specs stating what items/improvements the Condo is responsible for maintaining.

Because the owner wants to add a new front door, the staircase will end up "inside" the unit, hence their interest in purchasing the property from the condo assn.

 

[Galaxy]

What's $ per SF of GLA?

$530/sf

 

[Galaxy]

stairs are attached to the building. It is co-owned and I cannot imagine the situation where the stairs and landings wouldn't either be the property of one party, or common property for all to use- in which case you can partition its proportionate cost with the land, driveway, etc. Small isn't it? BUT, the common areas "in use" are generally not fungible items. They cannot be sold for their intended purpose.

I believe we call that "value in use" and "insurable value" would be the cost to replace a burned or damaged staircase. This is a cost issue, not an independent sales (market) issue. And the first question is this an item owned by the POA as a whole? Or co-owned by the occupants?

The new space (stairs) are common area jointly owned by the 3 owners, including the one who wants to purchase it.

 

[J Grant]

Because the owner wants to add a new front door, the staircase will end up "inside" the unit, hence their interest in purchasing the property from the condo assn.

this is a very different description than you first made.

Enlarging a unit , the stairs giving an owner ability to join 2 units is a complex assignment, it can be done but is about more than just what the stairs are worth or what they cost, if not having those stairs does not permit the owner to join the units.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The new space (stairs) are common area jointly owned by the 3 owners, including the one who wants to purchase it.

How can they sell it? And how would the other two access their units?

 

[jay trotta]

The new space (stairs) are common area jointly owned by the 3 owners, including the one who wants to purchase it.

Per post #11 (air rights)
As noted in previous posts condo docs will describe ownership interest and maintenance; generally ownership is from the paint in, so air rights may be more applicable. Common area cannot be Sold separately, as it is not in the Legal Description as such (review condo docs ). Most docs I've read allow a % interest in ALL common areas, yours may be different, but I don't think so.
Good Luck