Help!

[Ron Schwartz]

I lost the # for the FHA REAC center question line for appraisers.....

I am fighting with an FHA Revese Mtg Company. The subject has a seperate inlaws quarters upstairs which was built as a 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom unit with a full kitchen. The owners kis live there. The entry to the stairs is from the inside of the main house foyer area. The elderly couple have lived there for 50 years and built the inlaws quarters about 40 years ago.

It is illegal in todays world since the zoning is R-1 and cannot be rebuilt after a natural disaster. The lender is claiming if they remove the stove and cap the gas line it can be considered a kitchenette not a kitchen and thats OK and they want me to take a photo of the room without a stove and say it is a kitchenette?????

To me it is a full functioning kitchen with built in counters, cabinets and appliances....

What is the difference between a kitchen and kitchenette and what will FHA lend on?????

 

[RSW]

Is the property grandfathered in to the current zoning? I remember reading something somewhere about illegal units pertaining to FHA. I think it says you can appraise an illegal unit if you can find support in the market that there is value added for that unit. I know this is not the exact wording but it gets the point across. An example would be: Having a garage apartment in the back yard or an in-laws apartment in the basement or second floor.