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

[Wm. Hattaway]

My question regards what happens if I bring this up, along with other concerns, with the appraiser. We've already closed and since correcting the mistake would result in a higher home value will I be creating any problems by "reversing" the closing?

You would not be able to engage the appraiser directly but would have to go through your lender. Once they have it submitted to the appraiser he may or may not acknowledge it. If he does acknowledge his mistake what you may have happen is not a higher value as the appraiser would simply alter his adjustments resulting in the correct GLA but the same value.

 

[andrew81]

1000sf750sfwo

1000 sf of basement
750 sf of finished basement
Basement is walk-out

 

[andrew81]

He might have separated the basement below grade from the basement above grade. On the section that says, "Basement & Finished Rooms Below Grade," he put a general "sf" figure and then a "sfwo" The sfwo matches his 14' wall floor plan. I thought the first figure was supposed to be TOTAL sf on the basement and the sfwo would be a part of that. There is one unfinished room about 19' wide next to the finished part that would just about compensate for the difference between the two figures, which is why I read it that way. But,t hat unfinished space is also a walk-out space.

So, is the first "sf" figure ONLY supposed to be below grade and the "sfwo" (sf walk out, I know) additional above grade, or is the first figure a cumulative first floor sf? I assume there's a standard to how these figures are listed.

1000sf750sfwo

1000 sf of basement
750 sf of finished basement
Basement is walk-out

seems like it was reported correctly

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

He didn't include the walk-out basement as normal square footage even though it's a fully finished level of the house.

Basement is not part of the gross living area...see above

 

[liberated]

Mercy...this thread has given me a headache.....m2:

 

[sputnam]

Mercy...this thread has given me a headache.....m2:

Yeah. I can't figure out why there was any discussion at all after the part where the OP said...they had already closed.

 

[Buddy5]

I think I'm done with this.

Best idea so far today.

 

[Scott Kibler]

Post the appraisal including the building sketch and exterior photos, hire somebody local to review the appraisal or just have a new one done. Any responses you get on here atre going to be simple guesswork. Eventually, someone will suggest you send the report "in to the state", if they haven't already, lol.

In my experience, the most difficult properties for non-appraisers to decipher when reading appraisal reports are split level style homes or homes that have finished basement area. In my experience, most appraisals I review which have apparently non-intentional GLA (gross living area) errors, are of split level style homes.

It sounds like you have something similar going on there and either you aren't reading the report right, the appraiser miscalculated the reported GLA (versus basement area) or maybe a little of both.

FWIW, I would not worry about it too much. The appraisal was for lending purposes anyway and I assume you reached your sales price with the seller before the appraisal was even ordered. I would be much more concerned with errors made in my home inspector's report.

You did get a home inspection, right?

 

[Craig in Oregon]

Johnnyboygirl,

For sake of your curiosity here, couple of ideas:

Measure it yourself and grid it on graph paper, do the arithmetic
Leave out any unfinished or partly finished area on either level

or hire a different appraiser to just measure and sketch for you, maybe $50 to $100 bucks, have them explain the calcs and rationale to you.

No need to involve assessor, lender or first appraiser any further

Now, about that adult beverage. . .

 

[johnnyboygirl]

1000sf750sfwo

1000 sf of basement
750 sf of finished basement
Basement is walk-out

seems like it was reported correctly

Thought I'd check in for any recent posts. This one post on top from andrew tells me it was reported INCORRECTLY. Thank you for a clear answer! If the first figure is the total sf of the basement then he did make a serious measuring error and chop the rooms in half. The only way it could possibly have worked is if the first sf and second sfwo figure he gave were added together. But, that's not the case.

I've already measured everything myself. Did it when I realized the wall he labeled in the appraisal as 14' was actually 26'.