How Do You Describe The Subject Property?

[George Ellerman]

Be clear,Be brief.Be seated!!

 

[Michael Chu]

make it shorter?

Are abbreviations allowed? If you use abbreviations, do they require an index of sorts in the addenda?
A lot of the fields have limited space to fill words in their entirety, especially in the sales grid. I am sure everybody has to use some abbreviated terms.

My question is- "Is there a method or standard of using abbreviation outside what is found in dictionaries? Should we be restricting the use of abbreviations to those commonly found in dictionaries? "
I've seen some abbr. in reports that are not found in a typical dictionary:

Guess what some of these are:
pto
c.tile
ac
cpt
pch
fnc

 

[Mike Boyd]

Do NOT use abbreviations. Reduce the font size if neccessary, or search for another word that might be shorter but say the same thing. Some acronyms may be ok if they are generally recognized (Such as FHA or HUD). You are writing a report for the benefit of the CLIENT, not for yourself.

 

[CANative]

Guess what some of these are:
pto
c.tile
ac
cpt
pch
fnc

Patio
Ceramic Tile
Air Conditioning
Carpet
Porch
Fence

 

[Mike Kennedy]

You just described it.......

Help on wording external obsolescence (busy street with heavy traffic) for URAP. Any suggestions on wording without being too negative?

TIA

-Ward

yes..........."busy street with heavy traffic" (could add secondary access road, or county highway etc., leading to commercial district if applicable.) Short - sweet - concise!

 

[Mike Kennedy]

"nuff Said"

To echo Edd, Otis, Richard, John, Bob, TC, Mike, George, Jake, Shaun, & the other George..........accuracy, brevity excepting Obsolescence, Zoning/ H&B Use elements; write the appraisal ONCE, do another, and another .......double productivity while maintaining accuracy and reliability. .....double your practice. $$ ......also .....an appraisal report is not a SALES BROCHURE nor LISTING.......state but do not "advocate" !

 

[xm39hnu]

yes..........."busy street with heavy traffic" (could add secondary access road, or county highway etc., leading to commercial district if applicable.) Short - sweet - concise!

Too short and concise, IMO. Try this:

The subject is on a busy street which carries traffic to local commercial areas. Since the comparables are also located on similar busy streets, no adjustment is made for this in the sales comparison approach.

However, market studies indicate that heavy traffic produces a loss in value in single-family houses. Sales of similar homes in quieter neighborhoods showed an average price difference of $1.25 per square foot, or approximately 5%. This amount is assigned as external obsolescence in the cost approach.

This is what narrative descriptions are for. Tell them not only what's there, but how it affects the appraisal, and where those PFA adjustments came from.

Paraphrasing the instructor in AI's Advanced Narrative and Form Report Writing class: "I apologize for the length of this post; I did not have time to make it shorter."
-----
Edit: Done revised it twice now.

 

[Michael Chu]

100

Thanks Greg, you got a 100% as usual. :icon_smile:
I was thinking other appraisers in other areas would not use the same abbr.

Mike B., I have to use abbr. and I don't like different size fonts but I understand why you would discourage the use.
The samples I posted were used for several years w/o one incident and I don't include an index. (not just myself, I see these and variations all the time)
Maybe we were just lucky but would also tend to think no one among intended users are picky to the point where they will take issue with abbr.
-OTH, they may actually just look at numbers....

Anyhoo, medical, technical whatever group or field seems to use their own abbr. and RE professionals are no exception, just that there is no "official" list of RE abbr. Here is an example of what one individual did.
Did anyone come across any good (widely accepted) list appraisers can use?

.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Too short and concise, IMO. Try this:

This is what narrative descriptions are for. Tell them not only what's there, but how it affects the appraisal, and where those PFA adjustments came from.

Paraphrasing the instructor in AI's Advanced Narrative and Form Report Writing class: "I apologize for the length of this post; I did not have time to make it shorter."
-----
Edit: Done revised it twice now.

Thanks Jim...........i forgot to add Market Data Comparison .... above o ....."..........accuracy, brevity excepting Obsolescence, Zoning/ H&B Use elements.." darn.

Oh wait! the Topic was "subject description" ..........guess I wrongly assumed both the original question and the followup question weren't about the Subject.

 

[xm72mhd]

Guess what some of these are:
pto
c.tile
ac
cpt
pch
fnc

pto=power take off
c.tile=cold tile(like in Hooterville)
ac=that's a thing in an athlete's knee that needs an operation.
capt=a well that has lid on it
pch=pooch
fnc=fancy

what's all this got to do with appraising?