• Welcome to AppraisersForum.com, the premier online  community for the discussion of real estate appraisal. Register a free account to be able to post and unlock additional forums and features.

Is There A Standard Adjustment For A Residential Appraisal With A New Environmental Issue With In 90

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have a brand new open pit rock quarry it is just opened up next to my very nice home. They are blasting at least once a week and it shakes the whole house! There a rock crusher runs five days a week 10 hours a day or more. The dust from the plant crushing the rock, from the trucks coming in and out of the plant, and moving new dirt making room for more rock storage. I’m on a total of approximately 100 acres. My home is Approximately 2000 feet from the blasting. One of my rental homes is approximately 900 feet from the blasting.

It sounds like your property suffers from what is called external obsolescence. In simple terms, external obsolescence is a factor that reduces the value of an improvement because of something external to the property itself. It's not about whether the house is outdated or not, but rather something outside of the home that is causing a lower value. It's usually something that cannot be cured. Determining what effect the continuing operations of the quarry might have on your property is dependent on the market reaction to all of the detrimental factors that you mentioned plus others that you might not be aware of. Appraising properties with this condition are very challenging for even very experienced appraisers due to the complexities involved and the relative scarcity of information available to analyze.

Questions you might ask yourself are, can you rent either home, and how much would you have to discount the rents relative to other similar houses in your market in order to attract a tenant.
 
Report the dust pollution every day to the local dept of health. Take pictures now and if foundation damage occurs you will have the before and after. Have a witness to the pictures and the time/date stamp.

Was there a special use permit or was a rock quarry a possible use when you purchased your property? If special use did anyone contest/object to the use?
Many things, and the timing of them, could be a factor in your potential damages.

Also, your damages may not be the value of your improvements. Your damages may be your health if proper dust control is not in place.
 
Market reaction will amount to how buyers/sellers react to this proximate influence. An appraiser might attempt to quantify this reaction by seeking out other such examples - locally, if available; or less local if not available.

The first questions I would have in this situation is how much noise or risk from flying debris to your property and how long it can be reasonably expected to continue. The next questions I would have would be what the price or rent ranges are on these units and what the availability is in the area for the alternatives.

The reason I'd be considering price and rental ranges is because adverse influences sometimes have different effects on market participants at the different pricing levels. So how the typical rental tenant for your second unit (at 900sf) would react might be different than how a rental tenant for a 4,000sf home in that same spot would react.

These are all questions to be carefully researched and analyzed, not assumptions to make.

Thank you. You’re exactly right and these are my questions as well. I found some research of course That supports how I feel about my property and my new neighbor, At this point I’m trying to prove that it’s wrong. If I can’t prove it’s wrong, then it must be Accurate!

I have had a few of the tenants to move out because of the noise and dust and blasting. Keep in mind I only have 10 rental homes spaced out on a couple acres each on the backside of the property which is also budding up to the rock quarry as well as my home on the front side of the property.
As far as my home I would never build it next to a rock quarry.
 
Market reaction will amount to how buyers/sellers react to this proximate influence. An appraiser might attempt to quantify this reaction by seeking out other such examples - locally, if available; or less local if not available.

The first questions I would have in this situation is how much noise or risk from flying debris to your property and how long it can be reasonably expected to continue. The next questions I would have would be what the price or rent ranges are on these units and what the availability is in the area for the alternatives.

The reason I'd be considering price and rental ranges is because adverse influences sometimes have different effects on market participants at the different pricing levels. So how the typical rental tenant for your second unit (at 900sf) would react might be different than how a rental tenant for a 4,000sf home in that same spot would react.

These are all questions to be carefully researched and analyzed, not assumptions to make.

Thank you. You’re exactly right and these are my questions as well. I found some research of course That supports how I feel about my property and my new neighbor, At this point I’m trying to prove that it’s wrong. If I can’t prove it’s wrong, then it must be Accurate!

I have had a few of the tenants to move out because of the noise and dust and blasting. Keep in mind I only have 10 rental homes spaced out on a couple acres each on the backside of the property which is also budding up to the rock quarry as well as my home on the front side of the property.
As far as my home I would never build it next to a rock quarry.
 
Not far from here is an underground stone mining operation. Their blasting for the past 10-20 years has damaged homes in the immediate area. Drywall cracks, foundation cracks, brick cracking, etc. The company has bought out a lot of homes in that area but it took some lawsuits.
 
have a brand new open pit rock quarry it is just opened up next to my very nice home. They are blasting at least once a week
You need to document the condition of your houses. Photo in great detail all sheetrock, foundation, patios, and slabs. Also contact the local geology or civil engineering dept of a university to see if you can get a seismograph placed on your property, or buy one and get someone at the Univ. to calculate and interpret same. When in college we did that for homeowners near a quarry. If you have no damage fine, but you may still see a market negative reaction. But actual damages is grounds for a suit. But if you cannot prove damage occurred after blasting started, and wasn't a construction flaw beforehand, then you will not likely be successful. (p.s.- I'm a registered professional geologist, too, and worked with the seismic station in grad school.)
 
In mining operations similar to yours, there can be impacts that affect the health, safety and welfare of residents, landowners and businesses. Economic benefits to the community can be positive, while negatively affecting the nearby property owners. There are too many variables to consider what the actual impact might be on neighboring properties. In general. impacts on neighboring properties occur most prominently during active operations and blasting periods while some occur during long-term operations and maintenance of the mining site. Mining sites might be re-mined multiple times during their productive life. Some impacts, such as noise, dust (airborne debris) and light impacts, occur relatively close to the mining area and affect nearby properties; earth movement can occur in areas of earth removal and blasting; some impacts such as groundwater contamination and air emissions can occur either close to or in locations away from the area being mined. Generally primary homesteads are affected the most as there is some intent of longer term occupation. Rental units are generally affected less as their tenant occupancy is shorter in nature.

You will never know full impact until your property is marketed for sale. Have homes/properties around you that are also affected been marketed or sold? There might be some valuable information in those transactions. Sales might tell you if there is some discounting occuring. Properties on the market not selling might tell you the property is damaged to the point no market participant is interested, no matter what the price. Your rents will likely show measurable difference compared to units away from the same influence. Marketing times may be another measure of affect. of the influence. Any property impact might be “real”, perceived or anticipated. Stigma, which is an adverse public perception regarding a property, can affect property values.

Generally, environmental contamination is the biggest threat to residential and small commercial use properties. There are several effects that contamination can have on real property: cost effects, use effects, and risk (stigma) effects. Diminution in Value is a loss in value to a property caused by obsolescence. While an external obsolescence may be curable, it may not be curable by a landowner. For example, a landowner cannot move a high voltage power transmission corridor, or relocate a landfill operation, nor can he move a wind turbine situated on adjacent land. You cannot move the operation next to you. It could cease operations, which may be a cure.

Your harm - most people have an opinion regarding obsolescence and the effect on themselves, their surroundings, their property, and on society. Physical damage to your property is a measured affect. The harm may be real or perceived and it may be different for each property and to each property seller and buyer. This perception is indicative of how much one is willing to pay for a property.

Each state handles these situations differently. Hire an attorney.
 
Contact a local General Certified Appraiser, preferably a MAI. You have significant issues, and, yes, they can affect value. I used to apprais in North Texas in an area with significant quarry activities. However, the impact there would not be directly applicable to your area.

Good luck.
 
mining operations similar to yours, there can be impacts that affect the health, safety and welfare of residents,
if properly regulated dust should be suppressed - shouldn't be an issue. Traffic is, noise is tiresome, etc. but some people live near a railroad or plant without noticing it much
 
You need to document the condition of your houses. Photo in great detail all sheetrock, foundation, patios, and slabs. Also contact the local geology or civil engineering dept of a university to see if you can get a seismograph placed on your property, or buy one and get someone at the Univ. to calculate and interpret same. When in college we did that for homeowners near a quarry. If you have no damage fine, but you may still see a market negative reaction. But actual damages is grounds for a suit. But if you cannot prove damage occurred after blasting started, and wasn't a construction flaw beforehand, then you will not likely be successful. (p.s.- I'm a registered professional geologist, too, and worked with the seismic station in grad school.)

I understand the seismograph readings on the ground have a standard as to not cause damage. But would you have the same reading if the seismograph were on the second floor of a timber frame home?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Find a Real Estate Appraiser - Enter Zip Code

Copyright © 2000-2025, AppraisersForum.com, All Rights Reserved
AppraisersForum.com is proudly hosted by the folks at
AppraiserSites.com
Back
Top