Fannie Mae guidelines and gross living area access

[Lee Lansford]

We're here to serve.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Tried the link, but it says "page cannot be found"

the link to ANSI worked just now .....suggest trying again....

http://krec.ky.gov/legal/legal%20docs/calc_sqfootage.pdf

Does the Subject's governing Municipality utilize ANSI standards in it's Building Ordinance?

Utilization is entirely optional and varies from Muni to Muni.

Also:

In 1996, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted a standard for measuring single family residential buildings. This standard was last revised in 2003, and is called the American National Standard Z765-2003. The ANSI standard bases floor area calculations on the exterior dimensions of the building at each floor level, including all interior walls and deducting voids.
Finished area, sometimes referred to as “Gross Living Area” (GLA), is space that is intended for human occupancy and is:

Heated by a conventional heating system or systems (forced air, radiant, solar, etc.) that are permanently installed in the dwelling – not a portable heater – which generates heat sufficient to make the space suitable for year-round occupancy.

Finished, with walls, floors and ceilings of materials generally accepted for interior construction and with a ceiling height of at least seven feet, except under beams, ducts, etc. where the height must be at least six feet four inches.

Directly accessible from other living area (through a door or by a heated hallway or stairway). More information on Z765-1996, Z765-2003, and other ANSI standards can be found at American National Standards Institute Website.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Additionally I recommend reviewing THIS article on Accessory Dwelling Units:

http://www.lumlibrary.org/webpac/pdf/TAJ2012/TAJ_FA12_Feat_1_AppraisingPropwADUs_templink.pdf

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

We're here to serve

In that case, I'd like baked shrimp with scallions in a light Feta sauce. ... with white wine.

Appraisers may deviate from this approach if the style of the subject property or any of the comparables does not lend itself to such comparisons.
However, in such instances, the appraiser must explain the reason for the deviation and clearly describe the comparisons that were made.

While not ANSI compliant I think you could go either way with explanation.​

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The article above is recent and there is a very telling segment of that article that we all need to keep in mind... "Best appraisal practice" and "Fannie mae guidelines" are not always in lockstep. And the lender's "box" that they need to fit the loan in may be too small to fit a properly appraised dwelling with ADU

While the income capitalization approach and
other more fundamental analyses may fit within
appraisal industry best practices, there remain
institutional barriers to their use on properties featuring
ADUs. The majority of US mortgages are for singleunit
properties and are originated by banks whose
intent is to quickly resell the loans to governmentsponsored
enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac. Often these loans are supported by
agencies such as the US Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), which administers the
FHA mortgage insurance program. These institutions
have their own vocabulary for ADUs and standards
for properties, which the mortgage originator must
respect for the loan to be marketable—and which
affect appraisals.​

Fannie Mae does not use the term

​

​

​

​

​

​

accessory​

dwelling unit ​

​

​

​

in its single-family Selling Guide, but will​

purchase loans on properties with illegal “accessory

units,” a scenario for which it provides detailed

guidance. It will also purchase loans on properties
with legal accessory units, “if the value of the legal
second unit is relatively insignificant in relation to the​

​

total value of the property.”

 

[ctapraser]

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

[url]http://www.housemeasures.com/ArticlePages/American-Measurement-Standard.html[/URL]


The State of Michigan, requires the ANSI Standards.

[url]http://www.costonappraisal.com/xsites/Appraisers/costonappraisal/content/uploadedFiles/How_to_measure_a_house.pdf[/URL]

I admit I did not read this whole post/tread but.. If you need to go outside to enter a room over a garage I will NOT include it in the GLA. I do not care what book/standard/science/market reaction you quote.

 

[andrew81]

I admit I did not read this whole post/tread but.. If you need to go outside to enter a room over a garage I will NOT include it in the GLA. I do not care what book/standard/science/market reaction you quote.

while i do agree "I do not care what book/standard/science.. you quote." I do not agree that market reaction is not a factor.

As it may not be included in the GLA, it maybe a part of the GLA in a market. I do not live in a market where it is counted, though it could happen. But not mine.

Not GLA

 

[Meandering]

I admit I did not read this whole post/tread but.. If you need to go outside to enter a room over a garage I will NOT include it in the GLA. I do not care what book/standard/science/market reaction you quote.

I did not read it either, because I had earlier quoted the ANSI standard that said it is not GLA, but wanted to give the OP two measurement standards to cite that it is not GLA.