Divorce Appraisal-Bathroom remodled

[T.E. Faravelli]

I'd request that a contractor estimate be provided to me so that I could estimate a cost to cure. If the request is refused, the ball is in their court, and they could not fault me if my estimate is not correct.

Sound advice at any price. The cost-to-cure scenario can result in an unfavorable unintended consequences. For example, appraiser states the CTC is $5,000. After the settlement the party finds out it's $15,000. Guess who they may come looking for to pay the difference? Unless an appraiser has SME (is a GC or PE) I'd advise caution. My favorite tag line applies - no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Mike Boyd]

Chances are that the remodel project was the CAUSE of the divorce. LOL

However, in a divorce appraisal they want the value at the time of the split, not at some future date when the remodel gets completed. What was the state of the bathroom at THAT time?

 

[Wendy]

My advise is similar to some others....

Have your client provide you with a written contractor's estimate to fix the bath (labor & materials). Bounce it off another outside contractor to make sure it is fair and make the adjustment in the report. Do not just ballpark this one.

 

[Ross (CO)]

For those who get drawn into a C2C maelstrom.....at the behest of a client request......far better to select the very best of finish materials, with work provided by the very best of craftsmen, and create a bath-function-loss adjustment for the grid which could not be labeled as conservative. If that means that a resulting property value opinion "appears" to be low....so be it....as no appraiser need be straddled with a subsequent hurdle of oooooopps, I guess I did not "cure" that deficiency adequately enough. A C2C is just another opinion. It is not absolute, or should not be taken as such. Is any C2C estimate truly "correct" ?

O.K., so you suggest a "cure" for $15,000 and they might find out later it only cost them $5,000. Fantastic. How do we know what satisfactory elements of cure are residing in the mind of the individuals dueling it out ? Get a clearly described estimate, inclusive of the Entrep. Prof., from a(ny) contractor chosen by the grieved parties and use that number (+/- market impact of such improvement) as an adjustment in the grid. The appraiser then keeps a copy of that contractor estimate in the workfile.

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Yesterday I received an order following a phone call and seeing notation on that page that "Cost approach needs to be filled out". I had asked him questions about the property earlier......and he knew virtually NOTHING ! How does he know that the Cost Approach will be reliable or necessary to support a MV opinion ? ! Large acreage, four structures (years 1980, 1967 and two from 1924) and they want report on the new-form URAR. I subtly mentioned the words "hazard insurance" to that caller but I did not drive the point home with him. I have serious doubts about that youngest structure there, anyway. Sorry, in light of the new Cert 23.....I already see that a MV opinion for this place will NOT "require" any attempted Cost Approach while providing land sale data for ~36 acres should render a site value estimate close-enough for fulfilling that Fannie req. I will proceed to employ that form accordingly, with adequate explanation regarding the CA. When we speak again today to clarify another issue or two I will advise this individual that they simply consult with the property owner's current hazard insurance provider for THEIR calculation of any and all replacement costs. I don't need that "may rely upon" trap-door. If they cancel the order, so be it.

Yes, it's arranged as c.a.d. with fee yet to be quoted to h/o. They could really freak out.....if Check Box 4 was found upon direct property observation to be an appropriate measure of my responsible reporting.