Finished basement but...........

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Ahhhh... tis the season - for Santas and Grinches.

Take it easy Slacker. You've got a tough one that going to take plenty of additional time and effort to do it correctly. You're probably being pressured already for the turn time and nobody expects to pay anything extra for what it's going to take to do this properly. Next, everyone else involved in this deal is going to be mad at you for not ignoring this blatantly obvious deficiency.

Just take your time, do it right, and add some to the invoice for that extra time. Ones like this are going become more prevalent as the AVMs take over the easy ones. (they don't get those right either) Likely, the AVM on this one wasn't anywhere near high enough to suit the owner and LO and your the lucky appraiser that now has it in his lap.

Dealing with the phone calls after you send it in is not something to look forward to, but is just something you'll have to do. We all have to and it's your turn again.

Dee Dee gave a valid answer to your question. The rest of the posters have added to it. You have your answers.

Good luck and keep us posted about what you do with this one and how it turns out. I and likely quite a few others are definately interested in what you come up with. Things like this help all of us and it's why most of us are here.

Merry Christmas!

 

[Kevin Shannon]

Come on Slacker, evidently you forgot the rules to this Forum, no fair disagreeing with any of the regulars, (whether they're right or not).

(Oh yeah, no dissing of AlaMode allowed either!!)

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

So Kevin... what's your answer to Slacker's question? The more the merrier here when it comes to Appraisal theories.

I've been slammed here, I've made mistakes here, I've read too fast or didn't comprehend well enough and embarrassed myself here, I've apologized here.

I'm not perfect and I've never met anyone who was.

What do you think Slacker should do?

 

[slacker]

Come on Slacker, evidently you forgot the rules to this Forum, no fair disagreeing with any of the regulars, (whether they're right or not).

<span style='color:blue'>My bad..........

Actually I don't mind when everyone gets all defensive. I get a good laugh out of it.


Anyway,,,,,,

I think I will be using the K.I.S.S. approach on this. "Keep It Simple Sh*t Head".

I'm going to mention the functional problems regarding the location of the basement entrance but I am going to stay away from putting a figure on it. I don't want to open a can of worms if I don't have to.

I really doubt that I will get a call from any UW on this. If I do, I'll worry about it then and send him to Mike's contractor for a dollar amount.

And Pam thanks for referring to me as Santa! Ho! Ho! :lol: </span>

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Have a Very Merry Christmas, Slacker!

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

We always give slacker a hard time...it is his position in the pecking order. As to dis-ing Alamode...look up and you will see they are an advertiser on this forum. Guess they don't let youse guys scare them too badly!

In any event, have a nice Christmas youse all! I am still working, darn it.

 

[Dave Brigle]

$.02... I liked Dee Dee's answer ..... I'm still trying to figure out why it has to be a 4x14 hole..... It's a functional obs with cost to cure... Mike has the best answer.

 

[Dee Dee]

Slacker,

Just got back from inspecting a 1929-built ranch home with what used to have an inaccessible walk-out basement level that you could only get to through the tuck-under garage. Owner cut about a 5' x 5' area out of the corner of the living room and dropped a nice ready-made spiral staircase. He's a builder himself, said that the total cost was about $1500 and a weekend of his time. Functional problem solved.

I'm sure that if a person were to hire out a contractor to do the entire job they would shoot you some higher figures and do their best to convince you that this type of project is every bit as complex as rocket science, but the truth is that the basic structure is not all that pricey, nor is the labor a big deal for an experienced hourly-waged framer to accomplish.

Anyone with a little background in the building trades would have no problem seeing that they could probably bend over the owner of your subject property for a cheap sales price (complaining loudly about the functional obsolesence), then put in a staircase that would pay for itself several times over with relatively minor sweat equity. This isn't anywhere near as big of a project or expense as a kitchen or bathroom remodel would be, so you would probably be surprised at how many potential buyers would line up for the chance to fix it. This is especially true if it's a higher end home, which your description of the subject property suggests.

If you're lucky enough to find some paired sales with similar functional problems, you'll see exactly what I mean. I'll even say 'I told you so' in advance. Chances are that most homes with similar functional obsolesence won't have anything else in common with your subject, and will look far worse on your grid than simply submitting a cost to cure.

Don't shoot the messenger for offering suggestions (that YOU asked for), especially if your experience is so limited that you think one would have to cut a 14' x 4' hole in the floor in order to drop in some stairs. Kinda makes you look bad, and it's always your option to politely disagree.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Dee Dee

 

[Dee Dee]

I think I will be using the K.I.S.S. approach on this. "Keep It Simple Sh*t Head".

:lol: :lol: :lol:
You have no idea how close I came to introducing you to the 'K.I.S.S. Theory' on my last post! Thought it was just something that my mentor made up. I even typed it out with an explanation and decided against it, figuring you'd get your panties in a wad. Toooo funny! :lol:

Still, you should make a few calls and put in a cost to cure. Might as well do it now, because chances are the underwriters will ask for it later. Don't be a slacker, act like you really know what you're doing and we won't tell anyone otherwise. :wink:

 

[slacker]

Dee Dee,

I do appreciate the suggestions but I don't think they would work in this case. I'm sticking with the incurable approach on this one.

Owner cut about a 5' x 5' area out of the corner of the living room and dropped a nice ready-made spiral staircase. Functional problem solved.

Most spirals in my area are confined to loft apartments, 1970's re-models, or second story deck access. They look nice in the right house but they usually only add to function problems for basement access. The 5x5 hole you describe would only allow for the treads on the spiral to be less than 2.5 feet wide, you have to subtract for the width of the pole and rails that hold it together. In my case it doesn't solve any functional problems. Not unless you have a way of getting a 6-foot couch down a spiral that you're not telling us about.

This isn't anywhere near as big of a project or expense as a kitchen or bathroom remodel would be, so you would probably be surprised at how many potential buyers would line up for the chance to fix it.

Agreed on the expense part but take it from someone who has done this in his own house, it's a pain in the butt. Bathroom jobs aren't that bad because you can just close the door and hide to entire project.

Don't shoot the messenger for offering suggestions (that YOU asked for), especially if your experience is so limited that you think one would have to cut a 14' x 4' hole in the floor in order to drop in some stairs. Kinda makes you look bad, and it's always your option to politely disagree.

<span style='color:blue'>I'll take my position in Mike's "pecking order" but I'm trying to figure out why I would look bad for suggesting 4x14 opening. Pre-made staircases for typical 8-foot applications are usually about 3.5 x 13.5, so excuse me for rounding up. My subject has a nine foot basement so a straight run of stairs will more than likely have about 14 to 15 treads. The distance between the last tread on the stairs and the basement ceiling has to be maintained at 9 feet. The rough opening for any staircase has to be equal to the total area directly above the tread area. A straight run at 8 feet of vertical is going to be about 3.5 x 13.5.

Another option would be a landing with a 180-degree turn. The only problem with this is that you need to add an additional 25 square feet for the landing in order to make the turn, and yes, another 25 square feet of opening above. A typical rough opening for this application would be approximately 10.5 x 7.5 or a 78.75 square foot opening. The opening for a straight run would only require 47.25 square feet.

Even better would be a 3 foot circle cut in the floor with a fireman's pole.

As far as the stairs go I really don't have to "Act" like I know what I'm doing. I pretty sure I already do. I was was just looking for a good way to address the entrance to the basement through the garage.

And I will accept your apology in advance for the comment about my "limited experience" and "looking bad". I'm actually a good looking guy. I just don't have the stones to put my picture on the forum like Mike.</span> :lol: