If I'm feeling lazy, is it ok to.

[Elliott]

So how does it affect market value? Or should I be concerned
about cows, vineyards, or horses?

 

[Michigan CG]

Dude, that better be for a commercial report. I can sum up the Monroe area in three words.

The market sucks!

Anything else is just lipstick on a pig. Or maybe I'm just becoming disillusioned in my old age.

G-man, in your three word summary do you note the population history, the future of the population, transportation, employers, employment and employment trends, new construction including residential trends and commercial trends, pull factors of the retail spending, the median family incomes, income trends and the overall economy of the area?

Lipstick on a pig is an overstatement.....but yeah, it is commercial....All 21 pages of it.

 

[Michigan CG]

City-data has a ton of "data" about the SR. It even includes a free AVM so the underwriter can check your work.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Santa-Rosa-California.html

A lot of the stuff on City-data is very wrong. The new residential construction is always wrong.

 

[Michigan CG]

And what pray tell is wrong with his report thus far???

I have the same question....looks good to me.

 

[jay trotta]

Did not say anything was wrong - why does everyone "read into" their own interpretations ?

did say in my state you would need "Additional Licensing" - it appears to me to be more in the line of a "Home Inspection Report", for that you need to be Licensed in MY State.

any other mis-readings ya'll care to comment on ?


PS: I yam an advocate of the KISS method - Keep It Simple Stupid

 

[Rufus]

Greg,

I appreciate your thoroughness. The following is some 'over your shoulder' proofreading suggestions. Mine in bold.

12.5 x 18.5 Outbuilding:

The appraiser continued with the property site inspection without inspecting the interior of this building.

Mechanical:

The assumption is made that these units operate properly.

Sewage disposal system:

The appraiser noted two concrete lids near the south end of the residence and assumes that this is the septic tank.

The appraiser did not observe any evidence of septic problems at this point.

There was no visual evidence of plumbing or septic problems but the combination of the odor associated with flushing the toilet, an illegal or unpermitted conversion to living area of the outbuildings and several apparently unresolved notes in the subject property's permit history regarding septic failures over the course of about 5 years indicates the likely presence of plumbing or septic problem.

 

[SANDY]

I kinda agree with Couch. BUT WHY< WHY< WHY do you need a detailed description of the city? This is a SUMMARY report. Are you creating some kind of collection of reports for a future after you are too old to appraise? LOL.

"Santa Rosa is the largest city and the county seat of Sonoma County. It has a population of approximately 200,000 and is located 50 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It features several full service shopping centers, a complete school system, a community college. Sonoma State University is located 8 miles south."

That's enough and lots more than I include in my reports. SHEESH!!!

right on---- no need for the poundage!!!

 

[Wayne Tomlinson]

I don't work for the chamber of commerce, and don't plan to.

My description of much of the stuff that is in those information sources are not really of interest to the reader. If that is the norm, then I understand why "appraisal stripping" is going on.

In more than 45 years of writing appraisals, I have never had a client ask me about that sort of information, and I have had some say that they did not need "that much stuff" in the report.

Maybe it is just my area.

Wayne Tomlinson

 

[CANative]

Poundage? That's barely a blurb. (assuming you're referring to the neighborhood comments rather than repair addendum).

And right now, the Santa Rosa blurb is kind of clumsy because I haven't gotten 'round to tuning it up.

I've been working two very rural areas for the last 5 or 6 years and I feel more comfortable writing slightly more elaborate descriptions and explanations. Most reports have 3 comment addendum pages with no boilerplate, formatted roughly like: Neighborhood boundaries with some detail about the neighborhood, description of the general area (city or community or region,etc), market conditions, zoning and HBU, descriptions of the site and of the improvements, summary of the sales comparison, a small paragraph for each of the sales/listing comps presented, perhaps a paragraphy about properties not presented, a reconciliation of the sales approach.

Doing it this way seems to keep underwriting questions and demands to an almost non-existent level. No matter how weird the property or how bad the comps are.

But I haven't done an appraisal in the Santa Rosa area in quite some time and on top of that, the property is very difficult... especially for an FHA assignment. And the market conditions in this quadrant of Santa Rosa appear to at odds with the rest of the area.

My description of much of the stuff that is in those information sources are not really of interest to the reader. If that is the norm, then I understand why "appraisal stripping" is going on.

Wayne... it's a temporary comment until I get back to it.

Rufus... thank you very much.

 

[Blue1]

... include a web link instead of typing out a long description of a particular city?

I haven't done an appraisal in Santa Rosa in a couple of years and I don't feel like spending the next hour or two crafting a detailed description of the area. I know what it's like... I go there all the time. But it's all in my head.

I put in a detailed description of the subject's neighborhood (a rural area outside the city limits) and a brief description of Santa Rosa but I found a really good description on Wikipedia. What does the forum think of something like "For a more detailed description including demographics, climate, history, etc. use this link to the Wikipedia link for Santa Rosa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Rosa,_California"

Does anyone use internet links in appraisal reports?

I include web links for zoning especially in unincorporated areas where here, the zoning tends to be a bit more complicated. For example 'RR' zoning (Rural Residential) may not be rural at all but an attempt by the County to maintain a country atmosphere in areas adjacent to the City.

I would personally not go into the detail you did and I always find boundaries to identify unincorporated areas. That being said, you know your area and I presume include what you deem necessary.

There is a community here in the foothills that was built in a canyon around the Sacramento River. It was a main train-hub for 'pusher' trains used to get boxcars over the mountain using switchbacks. Thus it used to be named 'Pusher.' (clever eh?). When a rich man dontaed a fountain to the City it was named after him.....Dunsmuir. HA! Yes, I included that in my report because.......I just enjoyed the story.