Fannie Mae Adu

[glenn walker]

Fannie says an ADU has to have a fully functional kitchen and bathroom. As long as it's not some cheap busted up microwave, I think it is fine, but that's just my opinion. You have to decide if yours is fully functioning and looking at what the market accepts.

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A functioning kitchen simply means there is an-area for cooking and they are often small Kitchenette areas with a small spot to sit a table and chair . The cooking facilities can include a wide range of options, including gas or electric range and ovens, wood burning stoves, microwaves, hot plates, toasters. Often when people get old they live in these but suffer from early dementia or failing memory and the gas ranges have to be capped off or removed because they forget to turn the burners and oven off. At that point most get a microwave to use to heat water and meals. Anyway Fannie has no issues as long as the area can provide enough room to safely allow the occupant to have a small refrigerator and be able to heat their meals.

 

[undergroundPOP]

The acid test for what this detached buidlign is, aka its HBU is the zoning, does subject zoning permit a stove installed ? Since it is the stove/range that seems to be the dividing line about legally permitted kitchens.

If your subject building is permitted for a kitchen and range but the range has not been installed and kitchen is minimal finish, then I would explain, call it an ADU, and adjust the comp ADU's which have better kitchens and ranges installed as a line item adjustment , provide a cost to cure ( install range, a row of cabinets, full refrigerator, 5k, for example ).

But, if subject zoning is just for a guest house or detached building but not zoned for ADU, then you have a guest house with a light food prep area

I think that you may have hit the nail on the head here. I will just address is as a single unit with a guest house amenity rather than a full ADU per Fannie Mae's definition.

Thanks J Grant!

 

[MICHAEL O'BRIEN]

The acid test for what this detached buidlign is, aka its HBU is the zoning, does subject zoning permit a stove installed ? Since it is the stove/range that seems to be the dividing line about legally permitted kitchens.

The installation of the oven/stove in the second kitchen area in the basement or attached/detached area is a big driver here of a legal or non-legal accessory/in-law apartment. I inquired years ago why the building department was so hung up with second kitchen areas in dwelling. Told that mainly because town fire marshal claims that fire are more prevalent because, unless the house has a separate fuse box for the second kitchen area, the home's typically older 60 amp, or 100 amp service is not set up for two ovens and two stove tops in use, as well as other electrical uses, all at the same time. Fire marshal states that all the additional use heats the wires may cause fire - if the fuse does not pop. He also said most lay people do not properly vent gas stoves in small kitchens. So that is one of the stated rationales here, good or bad.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I'm appraising an SFR that has a permitted, detached guest house. The only problem is is that there is no "functional kitchen" as it only has a sink, countertop space for a toaster oven and mini-fridge. How would you typically go about valuing this type of secondary improvement in FNMA related appraisals?

Sounds like my kind of cooking....paper plates, etc. Since an ADU, unless held out as a rental, I likely wouldn't try to adjust for much other than it being an ADU....and I would simply compare on a $/SF basis with other ADUs.