Does anyone know where in the Fannie Mae guidelines it states that gross living area must have interior access? From what I read in the selling guide it doesn't outline it specifically. We are appraising a home with living area above an attached garage that has access from exterior stairs. It is a large room (used as an office) with a bathroom that has the same level of material and finish work as the home and is fairly typical for our market area. County records value it as GLA. The city is closed today so can't verify what the building permit lists it as. In our opinion, the contributory value would be consistent with that of the GLA. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
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Fannie Mae guidelines and gross living area access
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Meandering
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I believe you need the ANSI.
Finished areas above garages are included in the finished square footage that is at the same level in the main body of the house, but only if they are connected to the house by continuous finished areas such as hallways or staircases.
Finished areas above garages are included in the finished square footage that is at the same level in the main body of the house, but only if they are connected to the house by continuous finished areas such as hallways or staircases.
Meandering
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Michigan CG
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All you have to do now is support your opinion.
Lee Lansford
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No.
I would not consider the finished area as GLA.
Given what you have offered--does it matter which way you it as to the value of the property?
So, if ANSI are just guidelines and FNMA doesn't specifically indicate access, then I guess it is up to us to determine how the sq ft best fits into the market in our area, given that it is a permitted use.
It definitely effects the value as to whether we include it in GLA or as just a line item adjustment because with GLA we would be comparing it to similar GLA properties and the value would be higher than what we can make a separate line item adjustment at.
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Meandering
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Creating residential square footage is an art and not a science. It
is an extremely complex issue and no one measurement standard
will work in every scenario. The commercial real estate industry
embraces seven measurement "standards." The residential side of the industry is still struggling with two. Although these two "standards" have been used by professionals for over a hundred years, the only name most people have ever heard of is the ANSI® standard. ANSI is an excellent reference guide and, when used in its entirety, provides consistent and recreateable measurements. But, for many real estate professionals, they have been taught to measure stairs (and the sloped spaces below) by a different method. Both of these methods provide acceptable measurements for use in appraisals and mortgage lending. The AMS® (American Measurement Standard) was created for the group of professionals who do NOT measure stairs by the procedures prescribed in the ANSI Guideline, but still need the protection of following a formal, definable, and defensible if necessary, Standard of Practice. The AMS allows practitioners to say with authority "this is how I measured the house." In the event of any square footage discrepancy, this document offers them the liability protection they need and should be afforded within their industry. Just because they do not adhere completely to the rules of ANSI does not mean they are not just as professional as those who do follow ANSI. It is simply a difference of philosophy that is common throughout the industry, much like the difference in philosophies that brought about the need for seven commercial measurement standards.
The main discrepancy in measurement methods has always centered around the measurement and calculation of stairs, the sloped areas beneath, and the measurement of upper level living areas. The measurement methods contained in the AMS are currently practiced by professional real estate agents, appraisers, and numerous industry leading home builders and architects (i.e., Centex Homes®, Donald Gardner Architects, Inc.® and by many nationally renowned designers featured on sites such as eplans.com®, etc.).
The AMS and its associated principles provide acceptable measurements for the FHA, VA, HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is more a standard, not because a particular group or organization has endorsed or adopted its use, but because it is commonly practiced throughout the industry and accepted as a common method of calculating the square footage in single-family homes
http://www.housemeasures.com/ArticlePages/American-Measurement-Standard.html
The State of Michigan, requires the ANSI Standards.
http://www.costonappraisal.com/xsit...tent/uploadedFiles/How_to_measure_a_house.pdf
is an extremely complex issue and no one measurement standard
will work in every scenario. The commercial real estate industry
embraces seven measurement "standards." The residential side of the industry is still struggling with two. Although these two "standards" have been used by professionals for over a hundred years, the only name most people have ever heard of is the ANSI® standard. ANSI is an excellent reference guide and, when used in its entirety, provides consistent and recreateable measurements. But, for many real estate professionals, they have been taught to measure stairs (and the sloped spaces below) by a different method. Both of these methods provide acceptable measurements for use in appraisals and mortgage lending. The AMS® (American Measurement Standard) was created for the group of professionals who do NOT measure stairs by the procedures prescribed in the ANSI Guideline, but still need the protection of following a formal, definable, and defensible if necessary, Standard of Practice. The AMS allows practitioners to say with authority "this is how I measured the house." In the event of any square footage discrepancy, this document offers them the liability protection they need and should be afforded within their industry. Just because they do not adhere completely to the rules of ANSI does not mean they are not just as professional as those who do follow ANSI. It is simply a difference of philosophy that is common throughout the industry, much like the difference in philosophies that brought about the need for seven commercial measurement standards.
The main discrepancy in measurement methods has always centered around the measurement and calculation of stairs, the sloped areas beneath, and the measurement of upper level living areas. The measurement methods contained in the AMS are currently practiced by professional real estate agents, appraisers, and numerous industry leading home builders and architects (i.e., Centex Homes®, Donald Gardner Architects, Inc.® and by many nationally renowned designers featured on sites such as eplans.com®, etc.).
The AMS and its associated principles provide acceptable measurements for the FHA, VA, HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is more a standard, not because a particular group or organization has endorsed or adopted its use, but because it is commonly practiced throughout the industry and accepted as a common method of calculating the square footage in single-family homes
http://www.housemeasures.com/ArticlePages/American-Measurement-Standard.html
The State of Michigan, requires the ANSI Standards.
http://www.costonappraisal.com/xsit...tent/uploadedFiles/How_to_measure_a_house.pdf
Thanks Marion, that is so true. If there were specific guidelines for everything it would make it a lot more consistent, but it's not a perfect world and we all have our own opinions and ways of doing things. I guess the best we can do is go by market reaction to the additional square footage and value it accordingly. Taking into consideration what the legally permitted use is.
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