medical marijuana.have some questions.

[hockey4848]

I told my mortgage broker what I had going on in the basement. He told me I should not worry and that since it is not a "living space" is shouldnt make a difference.

 

[TRESinc]

There are no laws being broken but that may not matter to an investor in another state.

while i am a proponent of medical marijuana due to family members this statement is not true. marijuana is still illegal under federal law in all states. this includes growing.

 

[George Hatch]

We appraise the realty. Period. A structure is a structure and whether the current occupancy involves a religious use, sexual use, hobby use or personal hygiene use is nobody else's business until we get into structures built without the necessary permits or health/safety problems.

If I walk into a home and there's donkey **** and KKK propoganda playing on every TV in the house and lines of coke laid out on the coffee table none of that goes into an appraisal report because the personal characteristics of the occupants is not part of the valuation. I don't comment on "maintenance" because that speaks to what people do - I comment on "condition" because that relates directly to the attributes of the realty.

We're all human and we all have our personal biases with respect to the personal characteristics of others, but the moment an appraiser reaches a point where they cannot in good conscience refrain from commenting on this type of issue, that's when it's time to withdraw from the assignment.


My advice to the OP is that if the local authorities have signed off on the structure in its current condition then don't worry about the horticultural occupancy of the unit. That includes it's plumbing and electrical connections and systems. A meth lab is different because of the hazardous materials conditions. If the appraiser makes any noises you can remind them that appraisals are about the realty interests of a property, not the personal characteristics of the occupants. And then direct them to this thread to read up on the reasoning.

 

[Pat Butler]

It's the lender's call, and as an appraiser it would be included in the photos. Obviously this is a controversial issue in our country and I'm not going to be the one on the line for someone else's choices.

Seems interesting that your community/state/whatever would make it legal then not come up with corresponding regulations to address things of a real estate nature. That might be because it's still illegal on a federal level and the states that have approved it are basically ignoring federal law.

 

[JasonHaskell]

We appraise the realty. Period. A structure is a structure and whether the current occupancy involves a religious use, sexual use, hobby use or personal hygiene use is nobody else's business until we get into structures built without the necessary permits or health/safety problems.

If I walk into a home and there's donkey **** and KKK propoganda playing on every TV in the house and lines of coke laid out on the coffee table none of that goes into an appraisal report because the personal characteristics of the occupants is not part of the valuation. I don't comment on "maintenance" because that speaks to what people do - I comment on "condition" because that relates directly to the attributes of the realty.

We're all human and we all have our personal biases with respect to the personal characteristics of others, but the moment an appraiser reaches a point where they cannot in good conscience refrain from commenting on this type of issue, that's when it's time to withdraw from the assignment.


My advice to the OP is that if the local authorities have signed off on the structure in its current condition then don't worry about the horticultural occupancy of the unit. That includes it's plumbing and electrical connections and systems. A meth lab is different because of the hazardous materials conditions. If the appraiser makes any noises you can remind them that appraisals are about the realty interests of a property, not the personal characteristics of the occupants. And then direct them to this thread to read up on the reasoning.

agree 100%

 

[Delta85]

It's the structure that counts, not so much what it is being used for. If I appraise a home with a greenhouse do I list the plants being grown inside? Why would I? I don't have concerns over what is going on in a home as long as it does not effect the structure. If they are processing and bagging crack cocaine in the dining room do I report that? Ofcourse not.

The fact that the OP has permits and the product is legal in his state gives me even more confidence that this is a non issue.

 

[Miss Frank]

I agree entirely with George Hatch.

I've done two homes over the year with grow rooms sectioned off in the basement. I didn't mention it in either report. Both owners showed the proper paperwork.

A meth lab would be (in my mind) entirely different.

 

[George Hatch]

Health and Safety + hazardous materials contamination - the same as would apply if they were storing hazardous materials onsite in an unsafe manner or if the site had a leaking underground fuel storage tank or other contamination issues.

IMO, the morality issues aren't part of the appraisal problem unless the market is actually making that distinction - and I'd have to see the data supporting that before accepting the assertion at face value.

 

[Pat Butler]

There's that little box that requires the appraiser to check whether or not the the subject's present use complies with zoning. I think that might cause a problem here.

There are numerous fields on the various appraisal forms that the lender uses for other reasons than just 'getting the value'. They are relying upon the appraiser to be their eyes on the property. It's obviously a grey area with many issues but I think any use of the property that could possibly result in forfeiture of the property to a federal agency just might be something your client is interested in. If not, then they can ignore the information supplied by the appraiser. It's their call, but I don't want to be the one hiding information from my client.

I'm sympathetic with the poster in that this is for a medical purpose. But the details of that, along with the legality, is something for the lender to look into.

 

[George Hatch]

Well gee, I guess I'm glad I didn't have to appraise any of Bernie Madoff's properties that ended up being seized by the federal government. Some of that felonious conspiring he was convicted for almost certainly occurred at home.

If I was going to inform the lender of a personal activity of questionable legality occurring onsite I would do it outside of an appraisal report.