Illinois Appraisers...

[Brent Stonewell]

Effective January 1st 2007 each and every home must have a carbon Monoxide detector in the state of illinois.

A client of mine requested on all purchases i comment or not wheather or not the subject has one.

Anyone else mentioning this in the report? What if it doesnt have one..is it subject too installation of one?

 

[John LaBelle]

Massachusetts passed a similar law (Nicole's Law) which took effect in April 2006. The MA law requires one on every level with finished living area, as well as one within 10 feet of every bedroom door. I've never mentioned it in a report, and no one has asked me to. I treat it similar to a building code. We have building codes which require smoke detectors in new construction to be hard wired. I don't take apart smoke detectors to make sure they are hard wired. My position is, I'm not the building inspector. I assume the home meets local building codes. Plus there are so many differnt types. Some look just like smoke detectors, some are combination smoke/CO, some mount on walls, some plug into outlets and have battery backups.

 

[Jim Onderisin]

I'm not worrying about smoke or CO detectors. They have little to do with value.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I may have worked in the oil industry for years, but the last thing that I will tolerate in a house is a gas stove, gas furnace, or gas water heater...I am an all electric kinda guy. And if you don't have an gas appliances, a CO monitor is about as useful as a saddle for a pig.

 

[Deleted member 77547]

Effective January 1st 2007 each and every home must have a carbon Monoxide detector in the state of illinois.

A client of mine requested on all purchases i comment or not wheather or not the subject has one.

Anyone else mentioning this in the report? What if it doesnt have one..is it subject too installation of one?

Has anyone been doing the same with smoke detectors all these years? Having a smoke detector is law too. What is the affect of not having the carbon monoxide detector on market value - cost to cure: $40? Perhaps the client expecting the appraiser to, in a sense, police it?

just thinking out loud.

Judy

 

[Brian Weaver]

Over the years, I've had clients ask to check for all sorts of things. Its up to you whether you wish to do it or not. Its not a value issue...same as smoke detectors, radon detectors and whatever else.

I guess they want to make certain that the borrowers live long enough to make a few payments.

 

[Scott Kibler]

Will you be checking for specific compliance with the law?

Section 10. Carbon monoxide detector.
(a) Every dwelling unit shall be equipped with at least one approved carbon monoxide
alarm in an operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes.
The carbon monoxide alarm may be combined with smoke detecting devices
provided that the combined unit complies with the respective provisions of the
administrative code, reference standards, and departmental rules relating to both smoke
detecting devices and carbon monoxide alarms and provided that the combined unit
emits an alarm in a manner that clearly differentiates the hazard.
(b) Every structure that contains more than one dwelling unit shall contain at least one
approved carbon monoxide alarm in operating condition within 15 feet of every room
used for sleeping purposes.​

I'd make some sort of specific SOW statement concerning this, otherwise you might find yourself responsible for all kinds of code related things.

 

[Jim Onderisin]

I just read that neglecting to install the CO detector is a certain class of misdemeanor in Illinois. What those legislators won't think of next!

 

[jdbiggers]

I'm not worrying about smoke or CO detectors. They have little to do with value.

Neither does the name of the seller, but we have to report it. Quite often, prior sales of the subject have nothing to do with value, but, again, we must report it. And take a look at some of the actions taken against appraisers who don't!

Report it. If it is a concern of the lender, let them deal with the issue. A CO detector is not expensive and in many cases you can get them for free from many fire departments, as well as smoke detectors. I used to be involved with a fundraising program to distribute these through the fire departments here for free to those who need one.

But I would definitely mention whether or not one exists if it is a requirement to have one simply because I wouldn't want to waste time in court on a wrongful death case. Win or lose, it is still a waste of time that could have been avoided by writing one simple sentence in the report.

Furthermore, if you are stating the current use is legal as an SFR, and the state says it is illegal because such device does not exist, then you have a whole other problem. Not so much on the legal/illegal use, and not so much with any board of aprpaisal as they will think of this as nothing but fodder, but when you go to court on a wrongful death case, THAT'S where a good attorney will nail you. There is a difference between the laws that govern appraisal and those which define negligence. Attorneys can turn a little thing like that into a major issue NOT related to USPAP or appraisal.

JD

 

[Pat Butler]

I'm in Illinois too. The problem is that the law itself requires more than just the installation of the detectors. There are provisions between property owners and tenants with respect to who maintains the detectors and who replaces the battery. And the distance requirement (15 ft?) for installation doesn't provide enough specificity in the law with respect to how you measure the distance. So the only way to know if the owners have complied is to bring a ladder and try and determine how the state intends on measuring the distance between the detectors and the bedrooms (measure straight line distance, like through the walls? or just to the doorframes??).

So if you are going to address this issue then you need to make sure you go all the way with it. Whether or not the detectors are in place could be irrelevant if the batteries are dead or if the units aren't working. I intend to ignore the issue because it falls outside the scope of work.