I'm buyer, have closed, appr sf under by ~750 sf

[johnnyboygirl]

Are you sure that the appraiser measured a main wall at 14 feet causing a 700 SF error? I have never seen a home that is 14' wide.

It's a lower level with part of the wall underground on a sloping lot. I imagine he just measured the outside wall he could see and didn't remeasure inside. He drew a diagram of the lower level having a 14' wall. He then carried through all his individual calculations for sf with the 14' amount on the report to show how he got his sf for the lower level. Because of those two things I'm sure of the error. Because this is a fact error and not an opinion I know I could get a recalculation.

But, some other things I wonder about, as well. For example, the appraiser I worked for a looooooong time ago differentiated between the value of old stained carpet throughout a house vs. hardwood.

Maybe he just did what he needed to do to meet the purchase price, who knows. Maybe I should just leave it alone. But, it is a pretty doggone sloppy job. I hope this is a rare example of his work.

 

[johnnyboygirl]

I'll also mention that there are interior pictures of the house, so I know he went inside. I've both remeasured the wall and looked at the original blueprints of the house to verify his mistake.

 

[TJSum]

I've seen houses as small as 8' wide...

 

[DonRico]

Johnnygirl --

When you say "lower level" are you talking about Below Grade ?? Is this a walk-out basement layout ??

That's a significant error in measurement -- Is there a difference in the "level of finish" between the 14 foot wide section and the rest of the 26 feet ??

Is this a newly constructed house ??

 

[HF Mudd]

An appraiser who cannot tell the difference between a 14' wide house and a 26' wide house should have his or her eyes examined.

FWIW, there are significant portions of several neighborhoods in NYC (South Ozone Park in Queens county and Marine Park in Brooklyn come immediately to mind) which are replete with 14' wide houses. I could tell the difference between a 14' wide vs. a 16' wide or 18' wide home just from looking at them; how a trained appraiser can't tell the difference between a 14' and 26' wide home is frankly unbelievable. There's got to be more to this story.

 

[johnnyboygirl]

Johnnygirl --

When you say "lower level" are you talking about Below Grade ?? Is this a walk-out basement layout ??

That's a significant error in measurement -- Is there a difference in the "level of finish" between the 14 foot wide section and the rest of the 26 feet ??

Is this a newly constructed house ??

I'm not sure what technically is "below grade" these days. It's a 30 year old house on a sloping lot where both levels are fully finished as living, meaning it's the same as living in a two story house. The driveway side of the house enters on the second level and the back side of the house, which takes advantage of an amazing view and is the focal point, is on the first level. As to the level of finish, his 14' measurement actually chops through all the rooms in the lower level, so it's not an issue of having 14' of finished area vs extra storage. He actually has the dimensions of the lower level rooms very wrong.

 

[Michigan CG]

An appraiser who cannot tell the difference between a 14' wide house and a 26' wide house should have his or her eyes examined......

Maybe it was Friday night when he measured after celebrating five o'clock early? :new_all_coholic:

 

[Ken B]

So did the appraiser give partial credit for this lower level, which is reported by the owner as being below grade (by definition), as above grade space due to the apparently unique design of the house and account for the remainder of the level as below grade space?

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

Technically, if any part of a level is below grade then that level is considered as basement. Maybe he considered that area as basement?

 

[Pam Weed]

Why not just order your own appraisal to ease your mind?