Enclosed Porch - GLA Or Not?

[DB]

I have done several reports where this is the case ... TN is famous for taking in porches ... particularly in the more rural areas .... it is a cheap fix to expanding the house .... I do not include them in GLA though .... They do not qualify IMO .... I will give them their due in the cost approach and in the sales grid .. but I can't consider them in GLA ...I treat them just like a garage that has been taken in to create a den ...

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Yeah, those enclosed porches on single wides in TN are a real upgrade aren't they Doug. Realtor listing: Charming single wide with a solarium. Won't last long!

 

[CANative]

Charming single wide with a solarium. Won't last long!

:rainfro: I find that to be true in many cases. They're usually falling apart as I measure them.

 

[DB]

Been checking my local MLS have you??:rofl: Looks like a verbatim statement ....

 

[Big ole Boy]

Corny thoughts about GLA:

Comparing homes with larger orginal footprints (exterior load bearing walls) will on average have larger rooms than homes with converted areas such as enclosed porches.

Good floor plans start out that way.

GLA qualifiers

Slab on grade. (Most conversions fail here) Compare floor grades to floor grades
Insulated ceiling and walls
Under truss (anything else is bogus)
Window
As Pam said, a finish equal to or superior to the other GLA.

 

[Larry Lyke]

A porch is a porch is a porch.

Treat it the way your marketplace treats it. I'm not talking about how the Realtors treat it. With them, everything's GLA -- (smile).

In my marketplace, a porch is a porch is a porch. It is NEVER GLA, no matter how high the quality of the finished space.

There's a good reason for treating a porch it separately: it skews the comps you want to use in the appraisal if it's in the GLA and not so treated in the comps.

The end result in your Opinion of Value very well may end up being the same, but treat it as a Porch. Actually, it's a whole lot easier that way, too.

Now your appraisal is uniform and doesn't require silly (uneven) machinations to adjust. And it's not out of whack, which would happen if all porches aren't treated the same.

AND, I'M very careful in ogling the comps if I see -- or there's mention of -- a 4S-Porch. If the porch was put in a comp's GLA, I take it out and state that one simple fact in the appraisal report.

SO NOW, SUMMARIZATION: having gone both way in the discussion, the final answer is to treat all porches of the same kind the same way in your appraisal report and you'll be A-OK no matter what other things are wrong with your appraisal report.

L- in MN

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Say it's an old house where they've enclosed a porch and the outside looks exactly like the rest of the house, built to the same quality for the period, has the same roofing, same windows, same doors and floor coverings... but you can tell it was formerly a porch because one interior wall has the same siding as the original exterior?

Under that circumstance..... I would probably include it in the GLA, and it sounds like it would qualify under ANSI.... 'built to the same quality (roofing, windows, walls, doors, floor coverings). I don't think of the one interior wall having the exterior siding and a big negative unless you believe it would meet some buyer resistance, which could be a functional curable.

 

[Larry Lyke]

Pam --

My technical answer to your question would be "yes."

But by treating it as a porch and giving it the exact same dollar value as used for GLA comparison, you eliminate all the other problems in doing grid comparing.

And, the comps take care of theirselves when extracting any porch that has been included in GLA.

Of course, if the porch is 100% of the GLA dollar adjustment value in the comparison, the Opinion of Value will end up being the same, BUT it so simplifies reading the grid for the underwriter et al by virtue of the uniform treatment.

L- in MN

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

I could see either side of the issue. Is it permitted? :lol:

 

[Oregon Doug]

Like so many of these questions, the real answer is - it depends.

In my little corner of the world, I look to the Assessor's data. If it's included there - then it is GLA, if not - then it's likely a non-permitted modification (not necessarily). But on Maui, a home's lani is included as GLA.

Oregon Doug