Illegal Basement Kitchen

[Fernando]

Appraised a home for a purchase. The house has numerous condition issues, holes in walls, peeling/stained/missing flooring, exterior peeling paint, etc. There is also a partially finished basement, RR, HB and kitchen. There is no c of o for the basement finish and the subject is zoned SF Residential. I conditioned the appraisal for removal of the stove in the basement and I am getting asked by the lender to explain why. I also valued the basement as unfinished. The lender seems to be fixated on the stove removal issue and I cannot figure out why? Any insights?

Did you check the marketability of the illegal stove with similar comps? And is this illegal stove allow it to be used as an ADU? The removal of the stove still leaves stove hookups in place and Fannie still considers it to be an ADU.

 

[sputnam]

I'd poured liquid several times and it's draining. Plumbers tell me not to use chemicals cause they damage the pipes.
It's cheaper than hiring a plumber.

LOL... watch a plumber sometime. They use chemicals and the ones they use are stronger than the drain cleaners you can buy.... unless you buy from a plumbing supply store.

 

[Tom D]

i'm with being a little too anal with a basement stove. i would have no work in this big old city for lack of permits. it's funny that there would be a stove. i haven't used my kitchen stove for a long time. with a microwave and the newer electric toaster, etc, oven on the counter, the normal stove seems to be good only for a big turkey dinner.
checking marketability of a stove in the basement, talk about the micro study of a $500 object. on some your properties, how much % of the value does that basement kitchen has, if any, besides being finished. let's see, adjustment for old stove $250. was worth my time researching that and figuring it out.
well, we did have the USPAP & ansi perfectionists here. now we find the permit perfectionists.

 

[Functional Obs]

...and I am getting asked by the lender to explain why...The lender seems to be fixated on the stove removal issue... Any insights?

 

[Functional Obs]

When this happens to me I slow down the conversation. I take really long breaks in between replies.

I believe that if anyone sits with a problem long enough, they will eventually figure it out on their own. A client asking me ridiculous questions over and over will learn it's quicker to remove a stove than communicate with an appraiser who is "out in the field."

 

[Fernando]

Why would an appraiser ask a stove to be removed unless for safety reasons.
State what is observed and let lender decide course of action.