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

[Farm Gal]

Hey Slacker,

The couch can go down the garage stairs, nothing says you have to tear those out!

So now being provided with access to/from basement in TWO places the subject becomes BETTER than some of the comps (or at least equal) ...

Probability is that the basemnt's primary users are going to be the younger set and occasional weekend guests anyway, tho with that size house they can probably host the visiting team above grade :wink:

 

[slacker]

Hey Slacker,

The couch can go down the garage stairs, nothing says you have to tear those out!

<span style='color:blue'>Good point. Would turn it into a regular full basment with outside access. But I think a spiral in this neighborhood would probably appear a little trashy.

And it is huge. It's a total "Manland". Has it's own media room, family room, bar, office, extra bedroom with full bath, fireplace, the whole nine. Maybe the owners wife never new what was down there??

That was the other side of the story. Not only would you have to find a place for the stairs on the main level, but it would also need to fit somewhere in the finished lower level as well.

Oh well, the report has been submitted this morning with just the mention of the access. I'll let you know if I get a call. I really doubt that I will.</span>

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Or you could do what about half the appraisers in the country would do.....totally ignore the issue and bet the underwriter won't say anything about it either.

No stones, just wanted everyone to see I was a real person!

 

[Dee Dee]

Slacker,

I'm no fan of spiral staircases, in fact I personally detest them, but they do completely eliminate the functional problem of no interior access from the main level for a minimal cost, and I've yet to see an appraiser who felt it necessary to find comps with spirals to justify any loss in value.

As for the 4' x 14' stair access opening, that may be the size of the stairs themselves, but I'm sure that if you measure out a standard opening for a stair well you will find that it's typically around 3.5' x 9' for a straight run. The hole doesn't need to be as big as the stairs.

But alas, you and Mike are probably correct....chances are that barely mentioning it in your report will fly right under the noses of most underwriters. Many appraisers would make it even easier on themselves and simply ignore mentioning it at all, even if they know that they shouldn't.

If by chance your report gets hung up by an alert reviewer, you will be forced to decide the best way to cover your bottom, since from your posts I'm assuming that no adjustments were made to account for the obsolesence.

If you already claimed that the obsolesence is incurable, then you will be left with two alternatives if a reviewer requests more information. Either you'll have to backpedal and humbly reverse your opionion to reflect that it is curable, and provide a cost to cure (as I had suggested), or you'll be asked to produce additional comp(s) with similar functional obsolesence that will support your previous value opinion. If the additional comp(s) don't grid out nicely and you come in at a signficantly lower value estimate than you had with your original comps (based on personal experience, they most likely will), you're going to be wishing you had fully addressed the problem right from the beginning.

Slacker, just because you made a statement that notes the functional obsolesence (incurable) in your report doesn't mean you're completely off the hook for liability. If you are holding yourself out to be an experienced licensed appraiser you will still be held accountable and responsible for addressing that same obsolesence in your final value estimate in both the cost approach and the sales comparison approach.
Failure to properly research and disclose what negative value impact the obsolesence has on the the subject property is negligence.

 

[slacker]

As for the 4' x 14' stair access opening, that may be the size of the stairs themselves, but I'm sure that if you measure out a standard opening for a stair well you will find that it's typically around 3.5' x 9' for a straight run. The hole doesn't need to be as big as the stairs.

Actually, after 9 feet on a typical 7-inch tread rise you will have about 5 /12 feet of headroom. Maybe folks are just shorter in Colorado?

Slacker, just because you made a statement that notes the functional obsolesence (incurable) in your report doesn't mean you're completely off the hook for liability.

I should clarify a bit. I did mention the basement entrance was through the garage in my report but I stopped short of claiming it was a functional problem or incurable for that matter. And are we ever "off the hook".

This house has had 5 different owners in the last 40 years and now there's a sixth. It obviously has not been a major problem with all of the previous owners or the current buyer. So lay off the negligence trip.

 

[Charlotte Dixon]

Now, leave Dee Dee alone..she is way to cute for you to be picking on her!

Mike: How was that egg nog? :lol:

 

[Dee Dee]

I should clarify a bit. I did mention the basement entrance was through the garage in my report but I stopped short of claiming it was a functional problem or incurable for that matter. And are we ever "off the hook".

This house has had 5 different owners in the last 40 years and now there's a sixth. It obviously has not been a major problem with all of the previous owners or the current buyer. So lay off the negligence trip.

Hey....read the previous posts that you made in reference to the subject property. In your very first post you made no bones about recognizing that it was a functional problem to have the stairs in the garage, not to mention that you have to go through a bathroom to get there. In a later post you say you're 'sticking to the incurable approach'. All your words, not mine.
Now you say that you have decided that all of the things that you previously thought were incurable functional obsolesences are not worthy of addressing in your report, based on how many people have owned the property and that a new buyer has stepped up to the plate.

Hmmmm.......problem solved based on the Slacker Approach.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

My $.02

I would have addressed this mess with a lot of research and functional obsolescence adjustment and/or an estimated cost to cure to install an additional stairway, subject to at least one builder's estimate. It would have been in both the cost approach and the sales comparison. LO and UW and HO (and buyer and Realtor if applicable) be damned. I would have added to my fee for the extra work this would take and since I now always quote a base fee plus whatever extra the individual property might incude I just add to the fee. (Just tell them up front that if the property is in any way unique, there will be additional fees) Very glad I don't have one like that hanging over my head for the next 5 or more years.

 

[slacker]

In your very first post you made no bones about recognizing that it was a functional problem to have the stairs in the garage, not to mention that you have to go through a bathroom to get there. In a later post you say you're 'sticking to the incurable approach'. All your words, not mine.

Hmmmm.......problem solved based on the Slacker Approach.

<span style='color:blue'>Gee, I feel Like Trent Lott.


Actually I said that I don't get many functional problems and I had never seen anything like this before. And I did say that I was looking at the stair issue as incurable but only to the degree that it would not be feasible to put in another entrance. If it's not feasible there's no reason to come up with a cost to cure.

As it is, I did take Lee Ann's advice and I blew a call in to the realtor who told me that the bathroom entrance like the one in the subject was common for the neighborhood. Apparently, the guy who built this place did about 6 others in the neighborhood. One of my comps did have the same bath entrance and I couldn't notice any impact on value.

We kind of got off on the stair tangent so the bathroom issue went away. I mentioned that entrance in the report too.

In the end I had to make the decision of how much impact (if any) the bathroom and basement entrance had on the total value of the property. This joint had a price tag of $625k so with Dee Dee's estimate for a new entrance of a few thousand dollars and Mike's of about 6k we were talking about less than 1% of the total value of the property if it could have been done. I still don't think it could have. So in the end, there is really nothing "hanging over my head" as Pam put it.

I was thinking back to one of Pam's posts (I think it was Pam) in regard to termite damage that she noticed and reported in a doorway but never actually put a number on. I think she took the approach of mentioning it and suggesting a professional opinion. I thought this was similar in concept.

And on a personal note I have to ask you Pam if you are Catholic? I do appreciate your input but I always detect a slight dose of guilt with every word of encouragement. Reminds me of my mother, she was a pretty cool lady.

And Dee Dee, just remember to duck when your going down that straight run of stairs with the 9 foot opening. Doink!!!!
:lol: </span>

 

[Dee Dee]

And Dee Dee, just remember to duck when your going down that straight run of stairs with the 9 foot opening. Doink!!!!
:lol: [/color]

I'll keep your warning to duck in mind if you'll just remember to use your measuring tape. Remember, size of hole in the floor, not length of stairs. Try it sometime....comes in handy in this profession.

Slacker, either you're very bad at explaining yourself or you're very good at making up stories to CYA.