Detached Guest House - Do you count it as liveable square footage

[cnu691]

Sorry if this has been posted in the past but I'm brand new to the forum site.

I live in Fairfax County and I have a fully detached guest house from my main structure. The guest house has electric and water hooked up with a fully functional kitchen and a full bathroom. The guest house is around 600 sqft give or take... My question for both appraisal and tax purposes is this - Can the appraiser and county include the detached guest house as livable square footage AND does that full bathroom count towards the property's full bath count?

I've tried to find literature on this particular topic but can't find anything with Fairfax County or the State Real Estate Board at this point.

Thank you!

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

Sorry if this has been posted in the past but I'm brand new to the forum site.

I live in Fairfax County and I have a fully detached guest house from my main structure. The guest house has electric and water hooked up with a fully functional kitchen and a full bathroom. The guest house is around 600 sqft give or take... My question for both appraisal and tax purposes is this - Can the appraiser and county include the detached guest house as livable square footage AND does that full bathroom count towards the property's full bath count?

I've tried to find literature on this particular topic but can't find anything with Fairfax County or the State Real Estate Board at this point.

Thank you!

For an appraiser they should not count a detached guest house in the square footage of the main dwelling. We put it as a seperate line item. It may or may not contribute as much as the main dwelling, but we are supposed to seperate it to its own line on our adjustment grid. The full bath would not be on the same line as the baths in the main dwelling. This is not to say it does not contribute, but it is seperated.

For assessors who knows, maybe the accessor office for your county could tell you that.

 

[Lee Lansford]

Sorry if this has been posted in the past but I'm brand new to the forum site.

I live in Fairfax County and I have a fully detached guest house from my main structure. The guest house has electric and water hooked up with a fully functional kitchen and a full bathroom. The guest house is around 600 sqft give or take... My question for both appraisal and tax purposes is this - Can the appraiser and county include the detached guest house as livable square footage AND does that full bathroom count towards the property's full bath count?

I've tried to find literature on this particular topic but can't find anything with Fairfax County or the State Real Estate Board at this point.

Thank you!

The area may well be "liveable square footage", however, it is NOT what we call Gross Living Area and will NOT be "lumped-together" with the main house as though the two are one. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have value, but, the combining will not be the way that it is reported and analyzed.

 

[cnu691]

For an appraiser they should not count a detached guest house in the square footage of the main dwelling. We put it as a seperate line item. It may or may not contribute as much as the main dwelling, but we are supposed to seperate it to its own line on our adjustment grid. The full bath would not be on the same line as the baths in the main dwelling. This is not to say it does not contribute, but it is seperated.

For assessors who knows, maybe the accessor office for your county could tell you that.

The area may well be "liveable square footage", however, it is NOT what we call Gross Living Area and will NOT be "lumped-together" with the main house as though the two are one. That doesn't mean that it doesn't have value, but, the combining will not be the way that it is reported and analyzed.

Thank you both for the information! Yeah, I need to find out where I can find more literature on this - I will be calling the county assessor's office today.

 

[glenn walker]

Sorry if this has been posted in the past but I'm brand new to the forum site.

I live in Fairfax County and I have a fully detached guest house from my main structure. The guest house has electric and water hooked up with a fully functional kitchen and a full bathroom. The guest house is around 600 sqft give or take... My question for both appraisal and tax purposes is this - Can the appraiser and county include the detached guest house as livable square footage AND does that full bathroom count towards the property's full bath count?

I've tried to find literature on this particular topic but can't find anything with Fairfax County or the State Real Estate Board at this point.

Thank you!

No Its considered to be a separate ADU or Guest House an its given value but not included in your Main Homes Gross Living Area --IE House, say 2000 Square Feet - Guest House say 400 to 600 Sq.Ft.

 

[The Warrior Monk]

"Appraisal" and "tax purposes" are two separate issues.

If your appraisal is for a typical lending assignment, the gross living area of the main main residence and the detached accessory unit would be accounted for separately.

Regarding "tax purposes:" Assessor's do mass valuations that may use different standards that the typical residential appraisers would use in their practice. Just to give a common example, assessor's often do not consider real estate taxes a deduction for commercial properties, whereas commercial appraisers do.

 

[sputnam]

It counts but, it's not combined with the SF of the main dwelling. Its contributory value is whatever the market tells you that it is.

 

[J Grant]

Thank you both for the information! Yeah, I need to find out where I can find more literature on this - I will be calling the county assessor's office today.

The county assessor office may count the guest house living area into the sf of the dwelling, however the appraiser still will not, - appraisers are instructed not to, both from lender clients and per ANXI and other measuring standards,

Assessors want to max out sf living area for tax purposes and RE agents on listings usually combine guest house sf and bedroom /bath count into the main dwelling. Which appraiser then has to separate out. A buyer might care that a main dwelling is "smaller" on the appraisal then what the MLS reported.

 

[Tom D]

nice feature if you have a similar comp. if you don't, underwriter goes insane on the adjustment.

 

[cnu691]

The county assessor office may count the guest house living area into the sf of the dwelling, however the appraiser still will not, - appraisers are instructed not to, both from lender clients and per ANXI and other measuring standards,

Assessors want to max out sf living area for tax purposes and RE agents on listings usually combine guest house sf and bedroom /bath count into the main dwelling. Which appraiser then has to separate out. A buyer might care that a main dwelling is "smaller" on the appraisal then what the MLS reported.

So when they raise your tax assessment based on the guest house being part of the main dwelling unit (sqft and 1 full bath) can you try and argue that? I feel that's an extreme gray area to the benefit of the county's wallet, is it not?